--- title: "Patrick Joseph Schiltz | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/patrick-j-schiltz" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Patrick Joseph Schiltz U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - State: Minnesota - 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. Minnesota, 2006-present - In January 2026, he ordered ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to appear in court over noncompliance with habeas corpus orders, highlighting systemic violations of at least 96 court orders - law professor, 2003-2006 - Associate professor of law, University of Notre Dame Law School, 1995-2000 - Law clerk, Hon. Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court of the United States, 1986-1987 - After law school, Schiltz clerked for Judge Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1985–1986) and then for Scalia at the U.S. Supreme Court (1986–1987) with permission from Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. - Law clerk, Hon. Antonin Scalia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1985-1986 ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1985) - He graduated summa cum laude from the College of St. Scholastica in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and a minor in sociology. ### Additional information - In November 2025, he announced plans to assume senior status in July 2026, transitioning to a reduced caseload while maintaining judicial duties - He became Chief Judge on July 1, 2022. - received his commission on April 28, 2006. - University of St. Thomas School of Law, 2000-2006 - associate dean, 2000-2003 - Private practice, Minnesota, 1987-1995 - He then attended Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1985, where he held the role of an editor of the Harvard Law Review - Patrick Joseph Schiltz was born in 1960 in Duluth, Minnesota, and grew up in a devoutly Catholic family. - Date of birth: 1960-01-01 - Judge Schiltz has presided over high-profile cases, including rulings against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in Minnesota. - representing clients including the NFL, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves, media organizations, and religious institutions - He also blocked subpoenas targeting Minnesota officials, citing improper political retaliation - He subsequently joined the law firm Faegre & Benson in Minneapolis - Colleagues describe him as brilliant, incisive, and one of the few trial judges cited among the world’s best judicial writers. - He emphasizes fairness in sentencing and careful review of briefs, often conducting extensive research personally rather than delegating to clerks - Schiltz is recognized for his thoughtful, meticulous, and ethical approach to the law. - Birth place: Duluth, MN ## 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: Our goal is to provide systems that are sophisticated, user-friendly and flexible. This document will provide a basic overview of the courtroom technology systems. Courtroom Technology Training and Testing Courtroom technology training and testing is available to ensure that your technology will properly function with the courtroom technology. [Courtroom Technology - Minneapolis Courtrooms 12W and 15](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/sites/mnd/files/Tech_Manual_Mpls12W_15_0.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Our goal is to provide systems that are sophisticated, user-friendly and flexible. This document will provide a basic overview of the courtroom technology systems. Courtroom Technology Training and Testing Courtroom technology training and testing is available to ensure that your technology will properly function with the courtroom technology. [Courtroom Technology - St. Paul Courtrooms 7A, 7B, 7D, and 3B](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/sites/mnd/files/Tech_Manual_StP7ABD3B_0.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Our goal is to provide systems that are sophisticated, user-friendly and flexible. This document will provide a basic overview of the courtroom technology systems. Courtroom Technology Training and Testing Courtroom technology training and testing is available to ensure that your technology will properly function with the courtroom technology. [Courtroom Technology - St. Paul Courtroom 7C](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/sites/mnd/files/Tech_Manual_StP7C_0.pdf) 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/1392381) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392381) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392381) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2861/patrick-joseph-schiltz/) - [Courtroom Technology - Minneapolis Courtrooms 12W and 15](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/sites/mnd/files/Tech_Manual_Mpls12W_15_0.pdf) - [Courtroom Technology - St. Paul Courtrooms 7A, 7B, 7D, and 3B](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/sites/mnd/files/Tech_Manual_StP7ABD3B_0.pdf) - [Courtroom Technology - St. Paul Courtroom 7C](https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/sites/mnd/files/Tech_Manual_StP7C_0.pdf) - [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/2861/patrick-joseph-schiltz/) - [Wikidata: Patrick J. Schiltz](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7146821) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/patrick-j-schiltz", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/patrick-j-schiltz", "name": "Patrick Joseph Schiltz | KnowJudges", "description": "Patrick Joseph Schiltz, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. 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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.