--- title: "Rebecca R. Pallmeyer | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-r-pallmeyer" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Rebecca R. Pallmeyer U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: U.S. District 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, N.D. Illinois, 1998-present - Chief Judge (2019–2024): Became the first woman to lead the Northern District of Illinois in its nearly 200-year history - Senior U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, having assumed senior status on August 1, 2024, after serving as the court’s first female Chief Judge from 2019 to 2024 - U.S. District Judge (1998–2024): Nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 31, 1997, confirmed by the Senate on October 21, 1998, and commissioned October 22, 1998 - Magistrate Judge (1991–1998): Served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including as Presiding Magistrate Judge from 1996 to 1998 - Administrative law judge, Illinois Human Rights Commission, 1986-1991 - Law clerk, Hon. Rosalie E. Wahl, Minnesota Supreme Court, 1979-1980 - She continues to preside over cases as a senior judge and serves as the Seventh Circuit’s District Judge Representative to the U.S. Judicial Conference ### Education ### Additional information - Senior Judge (2024–present): Assumed senior status August 1, 2024 - Born September 13, 1954, in Tokyo, Japan, Pallmeyer earned a B.A. from Valparaiso University (1976) and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School (1979) She was a law clerk to Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Rosalie E. Wahl (1979–1980), practiced commercial litigation in Chicago (1980–1985) at Hopkins & Sutter, and held the role of an administrative law judge on the Illinois Human Rights Commission (1985–1991) - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1980-1985 - Date of birth: 1954-01-01 - Honorary fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and past president of the Lawyers Club of Chicago and the Richard Linn American Inn of Courts - Now on senior status with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. - Birth place: Tokyo, Japan ## 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/1390846) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390846) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390846) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2491/rebecca-r-pallmeyer/) - [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/2491/rebecca-r-pallmeyer/) - [Wikidata: Rebecca R. Pallmeyer](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7301872) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-r-pallmeyer", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-r-pallmeyer", "name": "Rebecca R. Pallmeyer | KnowJudges", "description": "Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-r-pallmeyer#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-r-pallmeyer#judge", "name": "Rebecca R. 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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.