---
title: "Michael Lawrence Brown | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-lawrence-brown"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Michael Lawrence Brown

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- State: Georgia
- 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

- Judge, District Court, N.D. Georgia, 2018-present
- President Donald J. Trump nominated Brown on July 13, 2017, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, filling the seat vacated by Judge Julie E. Carnes
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Georgia, 2002-2005
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Florida, 1999-2002
- Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1994-1995
- Began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge James Larry Edmondson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Judge Brown maintains a Standing Order for cases in his court to ensure the just, speedy, and economical disposition of cases
- He then worked as a litigation associate at King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta and held the role of an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Southern District of Florida and the Northern District of Georgia, where he tried over 25 cases and argued criminal appeals.

### Education

- Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1994
- Georgetown University in — B.A. (1991)

### Additional information

- Private practice, Atlanta, GA, 2005-2018
- Private practice, Atlanta, GA, 1995-1999
- Michael Lawrence Brown was born on October 10, 1968, in Quantico, Virginia.
- Date of birth: 1968-01-01
- Before his judicial appointment, he was an equity partner and co-chair of the White Collar and Government Investigations practice group at Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta
- At Georgia Law, he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served on both the editorial and managerial boards of the Georgia Law Review
- Birth place: Quantico, VA

## 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/4028216)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4028216)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4028216)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8556/michael-lawrence-brown/)
- [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/8556/michael-lawrence-brown/)
- [Wikidata: Michael Lawrence Brown](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33026962)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 598 | 9 | Not available | 9 |
| 2y | 1106 | 219 | 2.7 | 219 |
| 5y | 2308 | 1340 | 4.9 | 1340 |
| 10y | 4016 | 3038 | 5.6 | 3038 |

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.
