---
title: "Orinda Dale Evans | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/orinda-dale-evans"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Orinda Dale Evans

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: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Inactive senior judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, serving since her appointment in 1979
- Service: held the role of a district judge until December 31, 2008, when she assumed senior status
- Judge, District Court, N.D. Georgia, 1979-2008
- Chief Judge: held the role of Chief Judge of the Northern District of Georgia from 1999 to 2006
- She also held the role of counsel to the Atlanta Crime Commission (1970–1971) and was an adjunct professor of law at Emory University (1974–1977)

### Education

- B.A. in Spanish from Duke University in 1965 and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 1968

### Additional information

- Private practice, Atlanta, GA, 1968-1979
- From 1968 to 1979, Evans practiced law in Atlanta.
- Counsel, Atlanta Georgia Crime Commission, 1970-1971
- Born April 23, 1943, Savannah, Georgia.
- Date of birth: 1943-01-01
- Evans is recognized for her over four decades of service on the federal bench, her leadership as Chief Judge, and her handling of a wide range of civil and criminal matters in the Northern District of Georgia
- Birth place: Savannah, GA

## 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/1380566)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1380566)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1380566)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1015/orinda-dale-evans/)
- [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/1015/orinda-dale-evans/)
- [Wikidata: Orinda Dale Evans](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7102699)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/orinda-dale-evans",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/orinda-dale-evans",
      "name": "Orinda Dale Evans | KnowJudges",
      "description": "Orinda Dale Evans, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. 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/orinda-dale-evans#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/orinda-dale-evans#judge",
      "name": "Orinda Dale Evans",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/orinda-dale-evans",
      "jobTitle": "Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1380566",
        "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1015/orinda-dale-evans/"
      ],
      "birthDate": "1943",
      "birthPlace": "Savannah, GA",
      "alumniOf": [
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Duke University"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Georgia",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/georgia"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Orinda Dale Evans",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/orinda-dale-evans"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 2y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 5y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 10y | 587 | 587 | 4.1 | 587 |

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.