--- title: "Richard Mark Gergel | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/richard-mark-gergel" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Richard Mark Gergel U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina - State: South Carolina - Role: U.S. District 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. South Carolina, 2010-present - American lawyer and United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina, serving since August 9, 2010 - Veteran attorney with a strong background in personal injury law and a notable First Amendment case, now serving as a federal district judge in South Carolina since 2010, appointed through a bipartisan process - From 1979 to 1980, Gergel was a law clerk in Columbia, SC, then a partner at a local firm (1981–1982) ### Education - Duke University — J.D. (1979) - Duke University — B.A. (1975) - Duke University School of Law ### Additional information - Private practice, Columbia, SC, 1979-2010 - On December 22, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Gergel to replace Judge Henry M. Herlong Jr., who had assumed senior status in 2009. - In 1994, he represented the South Carolina Education Association and teacher Maggi Smith Hall in Hall v. - In 1983, he founded and led his own law firm, Gergel, Nickles and Solomon, specializing in personal injury law. - Born August 14, 1954, in Columbia, South Carolina. - Date of birth: 1954-01-01 - Birth place: Columbia, SC ## 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/1393296) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393296) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393296) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1175/richard-mark-gergel/) - [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/1175/richard-mark-gergel/) - [Wikidata: Richard Mark Gergel](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7327638) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/richard-mark-gergel", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/richard-mark-gergel", "name": "Richard Mark Gergel | KnowJudges", "description": "Richard Mark Gergel, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. 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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.