--- title: "Nancy Torresen | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nancy-torresen" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Nancy Torresen U.S. District Court for the District of Maine · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Maine - State: Maine - 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 - Judge, District Court, D. Maine, 2011-present - She previously held the role of Chief Judge of the District of Maine from January 6, 2015, to December 31, 2018 - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Maine, 2001-2011 - Assistant attorney general, State of Maine, 1994-2001 - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Maine, 1990-1994 - Law clerk, Hon. Conrad K. Cyr, U.S. District Court, District of Maine, 1987-1988 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine, and the first woman to serve as a federal judge in Maine ### Education - Hope College — B.A. (1981) - University of Michigan Law School ### Additional information - Torresen assumed senior status on October 11, 2025, after serving as a full-time judge since 2011. - She has also held the role of a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States (2017–2021) - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1988-1990 - Born 1959 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. - Date of birth: 1959-01-01 - Birth place: Ridgewood, NJ ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . The EEP also allows attorneys to connect a laptop for presentation of evidence using PowerPoint or other presentation software. Attorneys MUST provide their own technical assistance in preparing the laptop evidence presentation. [Electronic Evidence Presenter | District of Maine | United States District Court](https://www.med.uscourts.gov/electronic-evidence-presenter) 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/1393786) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393786) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393786) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3245/nancy-torresen/) - [Electronic Evidence Presenter | District of Maine | United States District Court](https://www.med.uscourts.gov/electronic-evidence-presenter) - [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/3245/nancy-torresen/) - [Wikidata: Nancy Torresen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13560996) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nancy-torresen", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nancy-torresen", "name": "Nancy Torresen | KnowJudges", "description": "Nancy Torresen, U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nancy-torresen#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nancy-torresen#judge", "name": "Nancy Torresen", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nancy-torresen", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the District of Maine" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393786", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3245/nancy-torresen/" ], "birthDate": "1959", "birthPlace": "Ridgewood, NJ", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Hope College" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Michigan Law School" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Maine", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/maine" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nancy Torresen", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/nancy-torresen" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 9 | 1 | Not available | 1 | | 2y | 80 | 13 | 2.1 | 13 | | 5y | 370 | 229 | 6.5 | 229 | | 10y | 810 | 669 | 7.9 | 669 | 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.