--- title: "Michael Adrian Ponsor | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-adrian-ponsor" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Michael Adrian Ponsor U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts - State: Massachusetts - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Adjunct professor, Western New England College of Law, 1988-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, having assumed senior status on August 15, 2011 - Judge, District Court, D. Massachusetts, 1994-2011 - Adjunct professor, Yale Law School, 1989-1991 - Law clerk, Hon. Joseph Tauro, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1975-1976 - Law Clerk: held the role of law clerk to Judge Joseph L. Tauro (D. Mass.) from 1975–1976 - District Judge: Nominated by President Bill Clinton on Nov ### Education - University of Oxford — M.A. (1979) - Yale University — J.D. (1975) - He graduated from Yale Law School with a — J.D. (1975) - B.A. — Harvard College, then studied at Pembroke College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving an M.A. in 1971 (1969) - Harvard University — B.A. (1969) ### Additional information - During his tenure, he presided over notable cases, including the Kristen Gilbert capital trial (2000–2001), the first death penalty case in Massachusetts in 50 years - 10, 1994, and commissioned Feb. - 14, 1994, to replace Frank H. Freedman - U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1984-1994 - 19, 1993, confirmed by the Senate on Feb. - Private practice, Amherst, MA, 1978-1983 - Private practice, Amherst, Massachusetts, 1978-1983 - Private practice, Boston, MA, 1976-1978 - Private practice, Boston, Massachusetts, 1976-1978 - Born August 13, 1946, Chicago, Illinois. - Date of birth: 1946-01-01 - Birth place: Chicago, IL ## 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/1386441) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386441) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386441) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2592/michael-adrian-ponsor/) - [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/2592/michael-adrian-ponsor/) - [Judge Michael Adrian Ponsor](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386441) - [Wikidata: Michael Ponsor](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6833580) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-adrian-ponsor", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-adrian-ponsor", "name": "Michael Adrian Ponsor | KnowJudges", "description": "Michael Adrian Ponsor, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 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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.