---
title: "Rebecca Grady Jennings | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-grady-jennings"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# Rebecca Grady Jennings

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
- State: Kentucky
- 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, W.D. Kentucky, 2018-present
- U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky, appointed in 2018 by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate
- On September 7, 2017, President Trump nominated Jennings to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, replacing Judge John G. Heyburn II, who had assumed senior status in 2014
- Law Clerk, District Court, M.D. Tennessee, 2002-2003
- Began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge William Joseph Haynes Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- She held the role of a senior associate on the American University International Law Review and worked as a student attorney for the American University Community and Economic Development Law Clinic
- She later worked in private practice in Louisville, Kentucky, as chair of Middleton Reutlinger’s litigation department

### Education

- Washington College of Law at American University in — J.D. (2002)
- Emory University in — B.A. (1999)

### Additional information

- Private practice, Louisville, KY, 2003-2018
- Date of birth: 1978-01-01
- focusing on civil litigation at trial and appellate levels
- Birth place: Wilmington, DE

## 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/4477671)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4477671)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/4477671)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8584/rebecca-grady-jennings/)
- [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/8584/rebecca-grady-jennings/)
- [Wikidata: Rebecca Grady Jennings](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q38944549)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 297 | 29 | 1 | 29 |
| 2y | 502 | 87 | 1.6 | 87 |
| 5y | 1060 | 593 | 6 | 593 |
| 10y | 1911 | 1438 | 8.1 | 1438 |

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.
