--- title: "Leonie M. Brinkema | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/leonie-m-brinkema" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-02" --- # Leonie M. Brinkema U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia - State: Virginia - 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 - Judge, District Court, E.D. Virginia, 1993-present - U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and confirmed by the Senate on October 18, 1993 - 1984–1985: Private practice in Alexandria, VA; part-time instructor at Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy - Trial attorney, Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1983-1984 - 1983–1984: Trial attorney, Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, DOJ - Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of Virginia, 1977-1983 - Trial attorney, Public Integrity Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1976-1977 ### Education - Cornell Law School in — J.D. (1976) - M.L.S. — Rutgers University-New Brunswick — 1970 - Rutgers University-New Brunswick — B.A. (1966) - University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts - New York University - Douglass Residential College ### Additional information - President Clinton nominated Brinkema on August 6, 1993 to replace Albert V. Bryan Jr. - received her commission on October 20, 1993, taking office on October 23, 1993. - U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, 1985-1993 - Leonie Helen Milhomme Brinkema was born June 26, 1944 in Teaneck, New Jersey. - Date of birth: 1944-01-01 - The American Bar Association rated her “Unanimously Well Qualified”. - Described as having a straightforward, by-the-book approach and a judicial philosophy emphasizing fairness and adherence to legal precedent. - She continues to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, with chambers in Alexandria, VA. - Birth place: Teaneck, NJ ## 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/1378271) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378271) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378271) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/392/leonie-m-brinkema/) - [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/392/leonie-m-brinkema/) - [Wikidata: Leonie Brinkema](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13560929) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/leonie-m-brinkema", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/leonie-m-brinkema", "name": "Leonie M. 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Brinkema", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/leonie-m-brinkema" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 518 | 227 | 0.3 | 227 | | 2y | 949 | 556 | 1.4 | 556 | | 5y | 1789 | 1389 | 3 | 1389 | | 10y | 3211 | 2808 | 3.4 | 2808 | 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.