--- title: "Michael Stefan Nachmanoff | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-stefan-nachmanoff" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-03" --- # Michael Stefan Nachmanoff U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia - State: Virginia - 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 federal judge serving on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia since November 2, 2021, and also as a judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court since May 19, 2026 - Judge, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) — Appointed May 19, 2026, succeeding Anthony J. Trenga - U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Virginia — Appointed by President Joe Biden, confirmed by the Senate on October 27, 2021, in a 52–46 vote - Office of the Federal Public Defender, E.D. Virginia — First assistant (2002–2005), acting federal public defender (2005–2007), chief federal public defender (2007–2015) - Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Virginia, 2002-2015; first assistant federal public defender, 2002-2005; acting federal public defender, 2005-2007; federal public defender, 2007-2015 - Private Practice — Cohen, Gettings & Dunham, P.C., Arlington, VA (1996–2002) - Law clerk, Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1995-1996 - Law Clerk — Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema, U.S. District Court for E.D. Virginia (1995–1996) - Other cases include the CIA’s firing of a COVID-19 vaccine–related Pentagon health official and sentencing a health worker who leaked Justice Ginsburg’s medical records - In summary: Michael Stefan Nachmanoff is a veteran federal judge with a background in public defense, private practice, and judicial service, now serving on the Eastern District of Virginia’s bench and on the FISC, and has been involved in significant political and legal cases ### Education - University of Virginia School of Law — J.D. (1995) - Wesleyan University — B.A. (1991) ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, E.D. Virginia, 2015-present - Magistrate Judge, E.D. Virginia — 2015–2021. - Private practice, Arlington, Virginia, 1996-2002 - Date of birth: 1968 - Birth place: Washington, D.C. ## 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/10931806) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10931806) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10931806) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9621/michael-s-nachmanoff/) - [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/9621/michael-s-nachmanoff/) - [Nachmanoff, Michael Stefan](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10931806) - [Wikidata: Michael S. Nachmanoff](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107379870) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-stefan-nachmanoff", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/michael-stefan-nachmanoff", "name": "Michael Stefan Nachmanoff | KnowJudges", "description": "Michael Stefan Nachmanoff, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 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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.