--- title: "Mary Elizabeth Phillips | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-elizabeth-phillips" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Mary Elizabeth Phillips U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - State: Missouri - 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, W.D. Missouri, 2012-present - Mary Elizabeth “Beth” Phillips is a United States district judge for the Western District of Missouri, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and confirmed by the Senate 95–2 - U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, 2009-2012 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of Missouri, 2008-2009 - Special prosecutor, Circuit Court of Missouri, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, 2002-2008 - Assistant prosecutor, Jackson County, MO, 1997-2001 - Current position: U.S. District Judge, Western District of Missouri ### Education - University of Chicago — M.A. (1992) - University of Chicago — B.A. (1991) ### Additional information - litigation consultant, 2008-present - Chief Judge: held the role of Chief Judge from January 3, 2019, until December 31, 2025 - Private practice, Leawood, KS, 2001-2008 - Patsy Ann Danner, MO, 1993-1994 - Born 1969 in Kirksville, Missouri. - Date of birth: 1969-01-01 - Legislative assistant, U.S. Rep. - Birth place: Kirksville, MO ## 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/1393906) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393906) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393906) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2558/mary-elizabeth-phillips/) - [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/2558/mary-elizabeth-phillips/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-elizabeth-phillips", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-elizabeth-phillips", "name": "Mary Elizabeth Phillips | KnowJudges", "description": "Mary Elizabeth Phillips, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. 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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.