--- title: "Robert Gillespie James | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-g-james" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Robert Gillespie James U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Louisiana, 1998-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, having assumed senior status on May 31, 2016 - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Senior Judge · start date: 2016-05-31 · notes: Assumed senior status May 31 2016; incumbent senior judge - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Judge · start date: 1998-08-03 · end date: 2016-05-31 · notes: Nominated Jan 27 1998 by President Bill Clinton to seat vacated by John Malach Shaw; confirmed July 31 1998; commission Aug 3 1998 - court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · role: Chief Judge · start date: 2009 · end date: 2012 · notes: Served as Chief Judge 2009-2012; succeeded Richard T. Haik, succeeded by Dee D. Drell - court: Ruston City Court · role: Judge · start date: 1985 · end date: 1998 · notes: City court judge in Ruston, LA prior to federal appointment - As Senior Judge, James continues to hear cases in the Western District of Louisiana ### Education - Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University — Law — J.D. (1971) - Louisiana Tech University — B.A. (1968) ### Additional information - Sheriff Mark Shumate (2006), James issued a decision clarifying that public trust rights in navigable waters do not extend to flooded private property. - Business Law Instructor — Louisiana Tech University · start year: 1992 · end year: 1998 - Private practice, Ruston, LA, 1971-1998 - Attorney in private practice — Private practice, Ruston, Louisiana · start year: 1971 · end year: 1998 - Before joining the federal judiciary, he practiced law in Ruston from 1971 to 1998, taught business law at Louisiana Tech University (1992–1998), and served on the Ruston City Court (1985–1998) - Born June 19, 1946, in Ruston, Louisiana. - Date of birth: 1946-01-01 - He overruled a magistrate judge’s finding that boaters had a general right to fish or hunt in such areas, holding instead that it is criminal trespass to enter above the ordinary high-water mark without permission - Birth place: Ruston, LA ## 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 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: Exhibits not listed will be excluded from trial absent good cause shown and lack of prejudice to opposing parties. Except for demonstrative exhibits, all exhibits listed should have already been disclosed during discovery or in the parties’ Rule 26 disclosures. On or before (7 days before trial) the parties are to provide to the Clerk… [JDC%20Bench%20Trial%20Scheduling%20Order%20Cain%202025.pdf](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/JDC%20Bench%20Trial%20Scheduling%20Order%20Cain%202025.pdf) 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/1390746) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390746) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1390746) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1617/robert-gillespie-james/) - [JDC%20Bench%20Trial%20Scheduling%20Order%20Cain%202025.pdf](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/JDC%20Bench%20Trial%20Scheduling%20Order%20Cain%202025.pdf) - [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/1617/robert-gillespie-james/) - [Wikidata: Robert G. James](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7344618) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386011) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_G._James) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/james-robert-gillespie) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1617/robert-gillespie-james/) - [Wikidata: Robert G. James](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7344618) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-g-james", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-g-james", "name": "Robert Gillespie James | KnowJudges", "description": "Robert Gillespie James, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 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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.