---
title: "Kirtan K. Khalsa | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kirtan-k-khalsa-new-mexico-us-magistrate"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Kirtan K. Khalsa

U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico · U.S. Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
- State: New Mexico
- Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-29

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico (2014–present)
- U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, appointed on September 8, 2014, to a renewable eight‐year term
- United States magistrate judge in the District of New Mexico, based in Albuquerque
- Appointed by the judges of the District of New Mexico under the federal magistrate judge system, which allows for renewable eight‐year terms

### Education

- ’s cited overview reports appointment in September 2014, an undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico, and a University of New Mexico School of Law J.D. in 1998.

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, D. New Mexico, 2014-present
- J.D. — Univ. of New Mexico — 1998
- B.A. — Univ. of New Mexico — 1995
- It details civil referrals, criminal-duty matters, and Social Security appeals among her judicial responsibilities.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### civil remote testimony

Scope: courtwide

In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.

Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.

[Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### criminal recording and broadcasting

Scope: courtwide

Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.

Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.

[Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=110)
- [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=110)
- [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=110)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9397/kirtan-k-khalsa/)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9397/kirtan-k-khalsa/)
- [BR/MAG Judge Database: Kirtan K. Khalsa](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9397/kirtan-k-khalsa/)
- [BR/MAG Judge Database: Kirtan K. Khalsa](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json)

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## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
- [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.