--- title: "Landya B. McCafferty | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/landya-b-mccafferty" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Landya B. McCafferty U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire - State: New Hampshire - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. New Hampshire, 2013-present - From 2018 to 2025, McCafferty held the role of Chief Judge of the court, succeeding Joseph Laplante - U.S. District Judge for the District of New Hampshire, appointed in 2013, and held the role of its first woman chief judge from 2018 to 2025 - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire, 2010-2013 - Landya B. McCafferty received her district court commission on December 17, 2013 after serving as a federal magistrate judge from 2010 to 2013. - Disciplinary counsel, New Hampshire Attorney Discipline Office, 2003-2010 - Law clerk, Hon. A. David Mazzone, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1994-1995 - Teacher, St. Paul’s School, 1984–1988; clerk to Norman Stahl, 1991–1993; clerk to A. David Mazzone, 1994–1995 - Law clerk, Hon. Norman H. Stahl, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 1992-1993 - Law clerk, Hon. Norman H. Stahl, U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire, 1991-1992 - Before her judicial career, she served as assistant director of admissions and teacher at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH (1984–1988) - Notable milestones: First woman judge in the District of New Hampshire - Currently a sitting judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire - She became the first woman to serve as a federal judge in the District of New Hampshire - Her earlier career included teaching, federal clerkships, public defense, and attorney discipline work - Current role: Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire ### Education - Northeastern University School of Law — J.D. (1991) - Harvard University — B.A. (1984) ### Additional information - Samantha Elliott succeeded her on November 1, 2025. - Chief judge service: end date exclusive: 2025-11-01; start year: 2018; title: Chief Judge - In 2024, McCafferty received the Marilla M. Ricker Achievement Award from the New Hampshire Women’s Bar Association - Chief judge beginning in 2018 - Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation; appointing authority: Barack Obama; from 2013-12-17 - On May 23, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated McCafferty to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, replacing Steven J. McAuliffe. - New Hampshire public defender, 1995–2003; disciplinary counsel, 2003–2010. - Staff attorney, New Hampshire Public Defender Program, 1995-2003 - Private practice, Manchester, NH, 1993-1994 - Date of birth: 1962 - Spartanburg Day School - She holds Harvard and Northeastern degrees. - Birth place: Washington, DC ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) . Provides information on courtroom technology that allows deliberating jurors to view exhibits electronically. . [Courtroom Technology | District of New Hampshire | United States District Court](https://www.nhd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/1394326) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394326) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394326) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2100/landya-b-mccafferty/) - [Courtroom Technology | District of New Hampshire | United States District Court](https://www.nhd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [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/2100/landya-b-mccafferty/) - [Wikidata: Landya B. McCafferty](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16194685) - [McCafferty, Landya B. | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394326) - [New Hampshire supplied research: elliott-chief](https://www.nhd.uscourts.gov/content/district-court-names-honorable-samantha-d-elliott-next-chief-judge) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2100/landya-b-mccafferty/) - [Wikidata: Landya B. McCafferty](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16194685) - [McCafferty, Landya B. | Federal Judicial Center](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394326) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/landya-b-mccafferty", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/landya-b-mccafferty", "name": "Landya B. McCafferty | KnowJudges", "description": "Landya B. McCafferty, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. 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McCafferty", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/landya-b-mccafferty" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 146 | 33 | 0.9 | 33 | | 2y | 229 | 38 | 1.1 | 38 | | 5y | 983 | 530 | 27.6 | 530 | | 10y | 3492 | 2135 | 34 | 2135 | 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.