--- title: "Mary Gordon Baker | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-gordon-baker-south-carolina-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Mary Gordon Baker U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina - State: South Carolina - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - In 2006, she joined the Federal Public Defender’s Office - Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of South Carolina, 2001–2006 - Senior Litigation Counsel, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of South Carolina - Mary Gordon Baker’s career spans private practice, federal prosecution, public defense, and judicial service - Began her professional career as an associate at Nexsen, Pruet, Jacobs & Pollard - She later returned to private practice as special counsel at Dufy & Young - She then served 16 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for South Carolina ### Education - Mary Gordon Baker graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina in 1981 ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, D. South Carolina, 2015-present - Practitioner, 2013–2015, Columbia, SC - J.D. — Univ. of South Carolina — 1986 - B.A. — Univ. of South Carolina — 1981 - focusing on business litigation and civil rights - Her judicial role benefits from her extensive experience on both sides of the courtroom, giving her a broad perspective on litigation and trial practice - She gained practical legal experience as a securities litigation paralegal at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in Washington, D.C., before returning to South Carolina for law school, where she excelled academically, participated in Moot Court, and contributed as an associate editor for the Journal of Law and Education - Mary Gordon Baker currently serves as a federal magistrate judge in the District of South Carolina, where she presides over a variety of civil and criminal matters - handling complex criminal cases including bank fraud, securities fraud, and drug conspiracies, and held leadership roles such as senior litigation counsel, deputy chief of the criminal division, and first assistant U.S. attorney - representing indigent defendants and co-editing the first collection of pattern jury instructions for federal criminal cases in South Carolina - Judge Baker has been active in professional legal organizations, including serving as chair of the Pro Bono Committee and participating in the Service to Indigents Committee ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=33) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=33) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=33) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9531/mary-gordon-baker/) - [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/9531/mary-gordon-baker/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Mary Gordon Baker](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9531/mary-gordon-baker/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Mary Gordon Baker](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-gordon-baker-south-carolina-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/mary-gordon-baker-south-carolina-us-magistrate", "name": "Mary Gordon Baker | KnowJudges", "description": "Mary Gordon Baker, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. 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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.