--- title: "Melissa Raye DuBose | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/melissa-r-dubose" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Melissa Raye DuBose U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island - State: Rhode Island - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American lawyer and judge who has held the role of a United States district judge for the District of Rhode Island since January 2, 2025 - Associate judge, Rhode Island District Court, Sixth Division, 2019-2024 - Appointed associate judge of the Rhode Island District Court in 2019, serving until her federal appointment - Special Assistant Attorney General for Rhode Island (2005–2008), and Senior Legal Counsel for Schneider Electric (2008–2019). - Special assistant attorney general, State of Rhode Island, 2005-2008 - Before entering the judiciary, she served as a Providence public school social studies teacher (1990–2004) - The first person of color to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island - Previously a teacher, state prosecutor, Schneider Electric counsel, and Rhode Island District Court judge ### Education - Roger Williams University School of Law — bio-7e096e1ab335; user_supplied_research — J.D. (2004) - Providence College — bio-7e096e1ab335; user_supplied_research; political science — B.A. (1990) ### Additional information - President Joe Biden nominated DuBose on February 1, 2024 to replace Judge William E. Smith, who assumed senior status in January 2025. - Commissioned January 2, 2025, following nomination by President Joseph Biden and Senate confirmation March 12, 2024. - Senior legal counsel, Schneider Electric, Foxboro, Massachusetts, 2008-2019 - Rhode Island state prosecutor, 2005–2008. - Teacher, Providence, Rhode Island, 1994-2005 - Born 1968 in Providence, Rhode Island. - As a federal district judge, DuBose presides over civil and criminal cases in Rhode Island. ## 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 ### presentation procedure Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: The parties, counsel, witnesses, and jurors (if applicable) will not be physically present in the courtroom. All phases of the trial from empanelment to evidence presentation to jury deliberations will occur by video. Attorneys should note that the ZoomGov platform is a secure system that is separate from the commercial or free version of Zoom… [Video%20Trial%20Handbook%20for%20Attorneys.pdf](https://www.rid.uscourts.gov/sites/rid/files/documents/attorney/Video%20Trial%20Handbook%20for%20Attorneys.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Requirements for Electronic Exhibit File Types . All electronic evidence should be provided using the following formats: . Documents: .pdf . [Exhibits | District of Rhode Island | United States District Court](https://www.rid.uscourts.gov/node/1275) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/13761556) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761556) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761556) - [Video%20Trial%20Handbook%20for%20Attorneys.pdf](https://www.rid.uscourts.gov/sites/rid/files/documents/attorney/Video%20Trial%20Handbook%20for%20Attorneys.pdf) - [Exhibits | District of Rhode Island | United States District Court](https://www.rid.uscourts.gov/node/1275) - [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) - [Judge Melissa Raye DuBose](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761556) - [Wikidata: Melissa R. DuBose](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124827216) - [Official biography](https://www.rid.uscourts.gov/judges/melissa-r-dubose) - [Judge Melissa Raye DuBose](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761556) - [Wikidata: Melissa R. DuBose](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124827216) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/melissa-r-dubose", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/melissa-r-dubose", "name": "Melissa Raye DuBose | KnowJudges", "description": "Melissa Raye DuBose, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. 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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.