--- title: "Robert James Jonker | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-j-jonker" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Robert James Jonker U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan - State: Michigan - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, where he has served since 2007 and acted as Chief Judge from 2015 to 2022 - Judge, District Court, W.D. Michigan, 2007-present - Judge: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan (2007–present) - Law clerk, Hon. John F. Feikens, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 1985-1987 - Official site: Judge Robert J. Jonker – Western District of Michigan Western District of Michigan ### Education - University of Michigan Law School — J.D. (1985) - Calvin College — B.A. (1982) ### Additional information - Private practice, Grand Rapids, MI, 1987-2007 - Between 1987 and 2007, he practiced commercial and environmental law at Warner Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, Michigan - Born March 9, 1960, in Holland, Michigan. - Date of birth: 1960-01-01 - Jonker’s tenure included significant rulings in commercial, environmental, and civil rights cases, and his leadership as Chief Judge involved overseeing the court’s docket, judicial administration, and procedural reforms - Birth place: Holland, MI ## 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: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: . Courtroom Technology The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan has installed electronic evidence presentation equipment in the courtrooms of all Article III Judges. All systems allow for the projections of evidence throughout the courtroom on monitors and/or large projections screens. [Judge Robert J. Jonker | Western District of Michigan | United States District Court](https://www.miwd.uscourts.gov/content/judge-robert-j-jonker) 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/1392596) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392596) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392596) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1676/robert-james-jonker/) - [Judge Robert J. Jonker | Western District of Michigan | United States District Court](https://www.miwd.uscourts.gov/content/judge-robert-j-jonker) - [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/1676/robert-james-jonker/) - [Wikidata: Robert James Jonker](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7346041) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-j-jonker", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-j-jonker", "name": "Robert James Jonker | KnowJudges", "description": "Robert James Jonker, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. 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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.