--- title: "Matthew F. Kennelly | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/matthew-f-kennelly" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Matthew F. Kennelly 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: senior - 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, 1999-present - Law clerk, Hon. Prentice Marshall, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1982-1984 - Kennelly began his legal career in private practice in Chicago, Illinois, from 1981 to 1982, and then held the role of a law clerk for Judge Prentice Marshall of the Northern District of Illinois from 1982 to 1984 ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1981) - Harvard Law School in, where he held the role of Executive Director of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau — J.D. (1981) - University of Notre Dame in — B.A. (1978) ### Additional information - He has also been a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1999 - He assumed senior status on October 7, 2021 - received his commission on April 22, 1999. - On January 26, 1999, Kennelly was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, filling the seat vacated by Paul Edward Plunkett. - representing individuals and corporations in complex civil and criminal cases, until his federal judicial appointment in 1999. - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1984-1999 - He returned to private practice in 1984 - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1981-1982 - Matthew Francis Kennelly was born on October 6, 1956, in Marion, Indiana. - Date of birth: 1956-01-01 - Highly experienced federal judge with a distinguished career in both private practice and on the bench. - Kennelly has been active in judicial administration and legal committees. - He serves on the Information Technology Advisory Committee of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the Seventh Circuit Criminal and Civil Jury Instruction Committees, and chairs a committee updating local rules for patent infringement cases in the Northern District of Illinois. - He has received multiple awards for public service and advocacy, including the ABA Pro Bono Publico Award and the Walter J. Cummings Award from the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association ## 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/1390941) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390941) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390941) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1752/matthew-f-kennelly/) - [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/1752/matthew-f-kennelly/) - [Wikidata: Matthew F. Kennelly](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6790481) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/matthew-f-kennelly", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/matthew-f-kennelly", "name": "Matthew F. Kennelly | KnowJudges", "description": "Matthew F. Kennelly, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/matthew-f-kennelly#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/matthew-f-kennelly#judge", "name": "Matthew F. 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Kennelly", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/matthew-f-kennelly" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 602 | 42 | 2.3 | 42 | | 2y | 1078 | 308 | 2.8 | 308 | | 5y | 2226 | 1281 | 3.7 | 1281 | | 10y | 5791 | 4838 | 9.7 | 4838 | 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.