--- title: "Paula Xinis | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paula-xinis" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Paula Xinis U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland - State: Maryland - Role: 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, District Court, D. Maryland, 2016-present - On March 26, 2015, President Obama nominated Xinis to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, replacing Judge Deborah K. Chasanow, who took senior status in 2014 - Assistant federal public defender, District of Maryland, 1998-2011 - Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1997-1998 - She later practiced at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy in Baltimore as a senior trial attorney and partner ### Education - Yale University — J.D. (1997) - Yale Law School in — J.D. (1997) - University of Virginia-Main Campus — B.A. (1991) - Born Panagiota Xinis in 1968 in Mineola, New York, Xinis obtained a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Virginia in 1991 ### Additional information - U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2016, known for her high-profile rulings in immigration and due process cases, including the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia - Private practice, Baltimore, MD, 2011-2016 - She clerked for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1997–1998) before joining the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland, where she held the role of Director of Training (2006–2011) and Research & Writing Attorney Supervisor (2008–2011) - Complaint examiner, District of Columbia Office of Police Complaints, 2005-2010 - Date of birth: 1968-01-01 - She has served on the Federal Bar Association’s Board of Governors and as a member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference - Birth place: Mineola, NY ## 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: Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) . The District has two Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) equipment in each division. JERS allows for jurors to view exhibits electronically in the jury deliberation room. [Courthouse/Courtroom Technology | District of Maryland | United States District Court](https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/courthousecourtroom-technology) 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/1394851) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394851) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394851) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8655/paula-xinis/) - [Courthouse/Courtroom Technology | District of Maryland | United States District Court](https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/courthousecourtroom-technology) - [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/8655/paula-xinis/) - [Wikidata: Paula Xinis](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20011484) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paula-xinis", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/paula-xinis", "name": "Paula Xinis | KnowJudges", "description": "Paula Xinis, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. 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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.