--- title: "Paul Arthur Magnuson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-a-magnuson" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Paul Arthur Magnuson U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota ยท 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, 1981-2002 - Magnuson, Paul A. "Portraits of Justice: Paul A. Magnuson." Interview conducted in 1987 by James Hogg - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, appointed by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate on October 29, 1981 ### Education - B.A. in 1959 from Gustavus Adolphus College, where he held the role of Class President and Student Body President, and his J.D. in 1963 from William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law), also as Class President ### Additional information - In 2010, he was a Fulbright Scholar at United International College in Zhuhai, China - Chief Judge: 1994โ€“2001 - Instructor, Hamline University School of Law, 1987-1989 - Adjunct faculty, William Mitchell College of Law, 1982-1989 - Private practice, St. Paul, MN, 1963-1981 - Private practice, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1963-1981 - Born February 9, 1937, in Carthage, South Dakota. - Date of birth: 1937-01-01 - Magnuson grew up on a farm near Carthage, South Dakota, graduating from a one-room schoolhouse. - Before joining the federal judiciary, Magnuson practiced law for 18 years in St. Paul, Minnesota - focusing on eminent domain and municipal law. - He was adjunct faculty at William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law, and held the role of Jurist in Residence at several Minnesota colleges. - Birth place: Carthage, SD ## 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/1384226) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1384226) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1384226) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2014/paul-arthur-magnuson/) - [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/2014/paul-arthur-magnuson/) - [Judge Paul Arthur Magnuson](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1384226) - [Wikidata: Paul A. Magnuson](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7148968) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-a-magnuson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-a-magnuson", "name": "Paul Arthur Magnuson | KnowJudges", "description": "Paul Arthur Magnuson, 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) โ€” 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.