--- title: "Robert Andrew Kirsch | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-a-kirsch" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Robert Andrew Kirsch U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey - State: New Jersey - 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 - United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in May 2023 - 2010–2023: Judge, New Jersey Superior Court for Union County, serving in the Family Division (2010–2015), Civil Division (2015–2016), and Criminal Division (2016–2023) - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of New Jersey, 1997-2010 - Trial attorney, Attorney General's Honors Program, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 1993-1997 - Law clerk, Hon. William J. Zloch, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 1991-1993 - He succeeded Wolfson as the U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey ### Education - Fordham University School of Law in — J.D. (1991) - B.A. magna cum laude from Emory University in 1988. ### Additional information - Kirsch was nominated January 3, 2023 to replace Freda L. Wolfson, confirmed by the Senate May 2, 2023 (vote 57–42), and commissioned May 8, 2023. - Born 1966 in Livingston, New Jersey. - Date of birth: 1966 - As a prosecutor, Kirsch handled United States v. - Puff, a $100+ million Ponzi and mortgage fraud case defrauding over 400 investors. - On the state bench, he adjudicated diverse cases, including a 36-year-old cold case and a “hatchet-wielding hitchhiker” murder conviction. - As a federal judge, he has dealt with securities fraud, class actions, False Claims Act cases, and emergency restraining orders - Birth place: Livingston ## 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: Courtroom Technology . The District Court has acquired various audio/visual and automated evidence presentation equipment which is available to the Bar at no cost. Each courthouse in the District is equipped with these devices, which are fairly simple to operate. [Courtroom Technology | District of New Jersey | United States District Court](https://www.njd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-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/13619516) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13619516) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13619516) - [Courtroom Technology | District of New Jersey | United States District Court](https://www.njd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-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) - [Judge Robert Andrew Kirsch](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13619516) - [Wikidata: Robert Kirsch](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116030126) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-a-kirsch", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-a-kirsch", "name": "Robert Andrew Kirsch | KnowJudges", "description": "Robert Andrew Kirsch, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-08", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-a-kirsch#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-a-kirsch#judge", "name": "Robert Andrew Kirsch", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-a-kirsch", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/13619516" ], "birthDate": "1966", "birthPlace": "Livingston", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Emory University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Fordham University School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "New Jersey", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/new-jersey" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Andrew Kirsch", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-a-kirsch" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 331 | 33 | 1.3 | 33 | | 2y | 714 | 217 | 2.8 | 217 | | 5y | 1145 | 578 | 4.1 | 578 | | 10y | 1145 | 578 | 4.1 | 578 | 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.