--- title: "Paul Victor Niemeyer | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-victor-niemeyer" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Paul Victor Niemeyer U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - State: National federal courts - Role: U.S. Circuit Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1990-present - Oral history interview of Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Paul V. Niemeyer, January 29, 2014, in Richmond - Judge, District Court, D. Maryland, 1988-1990 - Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit - In summary, Judge Paul Victor Niemeyer is a long-serving, well-qualified federal judge with a distinguished career in private practice, state court rule-making, and federal appellate service, recognized for his legal scholarship and contributions to the judiciary ### Education - A.B. in 1962 from Kenyon College, where he played on the baseball team, then studied at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in Germany before completing his J.D. in 1966 at the University of Notre Dame School of Law. ### Additional information - As of 2026, Niemeyer has authored and participated in numerous appellate decisions, including Fareed Hayat v. - 20, 2026) and United States v. - Tamarcus Ellis (July 20, 2026). - Niemeyer chaired the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (1996–2000) and has been active in judicial education and legal scholarship. - Served until August 10, 1990. - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: Nominated by President George H. W. Bush on May 11, 1990, confirmed August 3, 1990, and commissioned August 7, 1990. - U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland: Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 11, 1987, confirmed by the Senate on February 19, 1988, and commissioned February 22, 1988. - Private practice, Baltimore, MD, 1966-1988 - Private practice, Baltimore, Maryland, 1966-1988 - From 1966 to 1988, Niemeyer practiced commercial law in Baltimore at Piper & Marbury (now DLA Piper) and served on the Maryland Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure from 1973–88. - He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1966. - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - Interviewed by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, III. - He co-authored the Maryland Rules Commentary and was a senior lecturer in appellate advocacy at Duke University School of Law. - He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation. - Niemeyer’s own legal education in Germany and his family’s intellectual heritage have influenced his judicial perspective. - Niemeyer is married and has three sons. - His father, Gerhart Niemeyer, was a political philosopher and professor at Notre Dame. - Birth place: Princeton, 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 ### appellate oral argument Scope: courtwide In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation. Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385741) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385741) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385741) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2412/paul-victor-niemeyer/) - [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2412/paul-victor-niemeyer/) - [Judge Paul Victor Niemeyer](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385741) - [Wikidata: Paul V. Niemeyer](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7154118) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-victor-niemeyer", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paul-victor-niemeyer", "name": "Paul Victor Niemeyer | KnowJudges", "description": "Paul Victor Niemeyer, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 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