---
title: "Michael J. Bordallo | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-j-bordallo-local-state-judge-us-magistrate"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Michael J. Bordallo

District Court of Guam · U.S. Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: District Court of Guam
- State: Guam
- 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

- Judge Bordallo brings 22 years of judicial experience, having held the role of a trial court judge in the Superior Court of Guam since March 1998
- Full-time United States Magistrate Judge for the District Court of Guam, having assumed the role on February 14, 2020
- In that capacity, he chaired the Guam Judiciary’s Juvenile Justice Reform Focus Area on Court Language, co-chaired subcommittees on Civil Jury Instructions and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and led the Judiciary’s 2016–2019 Strategic Plan Focus Area on Access to Courts and Delivery of Services
- Assistant Attorney General, Government of Guam

### Education

- University of Notre Dame — J.D. (1987)
- B.B.A. — University of Notre Dame — 1983

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, D. Guam, 2020-present
- Private practitioner, Private practice
- Before joining the judiciary, he was a private attorney for nine years and held the position of Assistant Attorney General for Guam.
- Judge Bordallo has been assigned 26 cases in the District Court of Guam, including criminal, civil, and administrative matters.
- Judge Bordallo is an advocate for alternative dispute resolution, initiating a civil mediation referral program.
- He has been active in local sports, serving in leadership roles for Guam’s soccer organization and as a Match Commissioner for the American Football Conference (AFC) and FIFA
- He also served on the Guam Board of Law Examiners Drafting and Grading Committee and previously presided over the Guam Law Library Board of Trustees

## 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

### 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=105)
- [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=105)
- [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=106)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9203/michael-j-bordallo/)
- [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/9203/michael-j-bordallo/)
- [District Court of Guam biography: Hon. Michael J. Bordallo](https://www.gud.uscourts.gov/content/hon-michael-j-bordallo-us-magistrate-judge)
- [www.gud.uscourts.gov](https://www.gud.uscourts.gov/content/hon-michael-j-bordallo-us-magistrate-judge)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9203/michael-j-bordallo/)
- [District Court of Guam biography: Hon. Michael J. Bordallo](https://www.gud.uscourts.gov/content/hon-michael-j-bordallo-us-magistrate-judge)

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