--- title: "Manish Suresh Shah | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/manish-suresh-shah" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Manish Suresh Shah U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - 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, N.D. Illinois, 2014-present - U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014 and confirmed by the Senate 95–0 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois, 2001-2014 - Law clerk, Hon. James B. Zagel, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1999-2001 - First Indian-American federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois ### Education - Stanford University — B.A. (1994) - University of Chicago Law School ### Additional information - chief, criminal division, 2012-2014 - Nominated: September 19, 2013, by President Obama to replace Judge Joan Lefkow - chief, criminal appeals, 2011-2012 - deputy chief, financial crimes & special prosecutions, 2008-2011 - deputy chief, general crimes, 2007-2008 - Private practice, San Francisco, CA, 1998-1999 - Date of birth: 1972-01-01 - Birth place: New York, NY ## 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/1394466) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394466) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394466) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2922/manish-suresh-shah/) - [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/2922/manish-suresh-shah/) - [Wikidata: Manish S. Shah](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14932369) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/manish-suresh-shah", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/manish-suresh-shah", "name": "Manish Suresh Shah | KnowJudges", "description": "Manish Suresh Shah, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 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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.