---
title: "Kristine Gerhard Baker | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kristine-gerhard-baker"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Kristine Gerhard Baker

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
- State: Arkansas
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

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

## Biography

### Professional career

- Kristine Anne Gerhard Baker is an American judge and the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas since December 18, 2023
- Judge, District Court, E.D. Arkansas, 2012-present
- 2000–2012: Partner at Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow, PLLC in Little Rock, Arkansas, specializing in commercial litigation, employment law, and First Amendment cases
- 1998–2000: Attorney at Williams & Anderson, LLP
- Law clerk, Hon. Susan Webber Wright, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, 1996-1998

### Education

- Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1996
- Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Saint Louis University in 1993

### Additional information

- Chief Judge: Assumed the role on December 18, 2023.
- Confirmation: Senate Judiciary Committee heard her on January 26, 2012; confirmed by voice vote on May 7, 2012; commission issued May 8, 2012.
- Private practice, Little Rock, AR, 1998-2012
- Born March 30, 1971, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- Date of birth: 1971-01-01
- Birth place: Colorado Springs, CO

## 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.fjc.gov/node/1393971)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393971)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393971)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/154/kristine-gerhard-baker/)
- [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/154/kristine-gerhard-baker/)
- [Wikidata: Kristine Gerhard Baker](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6438300)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 409 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 2y | 738 | 49 | 3.2 | 49 |
| 5y | 1724 | 763 | 11 | 763 |
| 10y | 3278 | 2298 | 12.2 | 2298 |

Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/


## 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.