--- title: "Lisa Margaret Smith | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lisa-margaret-smith-9451" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Lisa Margaret Smith U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · Magistrate ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - State: New York - Role: Magistrate - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-06-30 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of New York for 25 years, retiring in 2020, and is remembered for her legal excellence, community service, and dedication to justice - She also taught Evidence, Federal Courts, and Civil Procedure as an adjunct professor at Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law from 2006 to 2020 WBASNY - Selected as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1995, serving three terms until her retirement in 2020 ### Education ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, S.D. New York, 1995-present - On October 9, 2024, Judge Smith passed away at age 69 after a long battle with cancer. - Between 2006 and 2008, she held the role of Chief Magistrate Judge. - Born April 25, 1955, in Hamilton, NY, Smith earned her B.A. in political science from Earlham College (1977) and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law (1980). - Deeply committed to community outreach. - The first woman appointed to this role in the White Plains judicial district. ## 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 ### recording and photography Scope: statewide New York statewide rules require permission before photographing, filming, videotaping, audiotaping, broadcasting, or telecasting in court facilities, including courtrooms. Evidence excerpt: Taking photographs, films or videotapes, or audiotaping, broadcasting or telecasting, in a courthouse including any courtroom, office or hallway thereof, at any time or on any occasion, whether or not the court is in session, is forbidden, unless permission of the Chief Administrator of the Courts or a designee of the Chief Administrator is first obtained [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### evidence presentation control Scope: statewide The official Guide to New York Evidence identifies court control over presentation of evidence as a statewide evidence topic; counsel should expect the assigned judge to control the mode and order of proof. Evidence excerpt: 1.07. COURT CONTROL OVER PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE [Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role](https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/evidence/1-GENERAL/1-generalprovisions.shtml) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9451/lisa-margaret-smith/) - [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9451/lisa-margaret-smith/) - [U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9451/lisa-margaret-smith/) - [Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings](https://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-29-electronic-recording-and-audio-visual-coverage-court-facilities-and-court-proceedings?from_node=15921&topic=386&wrapped=true) - [Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role](https://www.nycourts.gov/judges/evidence/1-GENERAL/1-generalprovisions.shtml) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9451/lisa-margaret-smith/) - [Lisa Smith (New York) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Lisa_Smith_(New_York)) - [The Honorable Lisa Margaret Smith – Federal Bar Council Quarterly](https://federalbarcouncilquarterly.org/the-honorable-lisa-margaret-smith) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lisa-margaret-smith-9451", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/lisa-margaret-smith-9451", "name": "Lisa Margaret Smith | KnowJudges", "description": "Lisa Margaret Smith, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 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Civil and criminal sections have distinct scope and district-specific exceptions. Not Bankruptcy Court rules. [Official source](https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/local_rules/2026-01-02%20-%20EDNY%20and%20SDNY%20Joint%20Local%20Rules%20As%20Amended.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [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.