--- title: "Reggie B. Walton | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/reggie-b-walton" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Reggie B. Walton U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia - State: District of Columbia - 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, District of Columbia, 2001-present - In May 2007, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed him to the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), later elevating him to Presiding Judge in 2013, where he was noted for his scrutiny of NSA compliance with court orders. - Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1991-2001 - He held the role of an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 1981 to 1989 and again from 1991 to 2001, holding leadership roles including Presiding Judge of the Family Division, Domestic Violence. - Between 1989 and 1991, he was associate director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and senior White House Advisor for Crime under President George H.W. Bush - Assistant U.S. attorney and executive assistant U.S. attorney, District of Columbia, 1976-1981 - He then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and later as chief of the Career Criminal Unit ### Education - Washington College of Law at American University in — J.D. (1974) - West Virginia State College in on a football scholarship — B.A. (1971) - West Virginia State University — B.A. ### Additional information - Senior White House advisor for crime, Executive Office of the President, 1991-present - He assumed senior status on December 31, 2015. - He was appointed by President Bush in 2004 as Chair of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, which developed recommendations to reduce prison sexual assault, many of which were implemented in federal facilities United States Courts. - received his commission on September 24, 2001. - Staff attorney, Defender Association of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1974-1976 - Began his legal career as a staff attorney with the Defender Association of Philadelphia in 1974. - Reggie Barnett Walton was born on February 8, 1949, in North Charleroi, Pennsylvania. - Date of birth: 1949-02-08 - He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. - Birth place: North Charleroi, PA ## 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/1391301) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391301) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391301) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3362/reggie-b-walton/) - [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/3362/reggie-b-walton/) - [Wikidata: Reggie Walton](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7308324) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/reggie-b-walton", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/reggie-b-walton", "name": "Reggie B. 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Walton", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/reggie-b-walton" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 81 | 2 | Not available | 2 | | 2y | 220 | 45 | 3.4 | 45 | | 5y | 531 | 303 | 7.4 | 303 | | 10y | 914 | 664 | 8.8 | 664 | 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.