--- title: "Robert Lewis Hinkle | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-lewis-hinkle" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Robert Lewis Hinkle U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida - State: Florida - Role: U.S. District 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, N.D. Florida, 1996-present - Adjunct professor of law, Florida State University, 1981-present - Also an adjunct professor of law at Florida State University from 1981 - Law clerk, Hon. Irving Goldberg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1976-1977 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1976) - Harvard Law School in — J.D. (1976) - Florida State University in — B.A. (1972) ### Additional information - Chief Judge: 2004–2009 - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2006-2007 - Private practice, Tallahassee, FL, 1978-1996 - Private practice, Tallahassee, Florida, 1978-1996 - Irving Goldberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1976–1977) and practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia (1977–1978) and Tallahassee, Florida (1978–1996). - Private practice, Atlanta, GA, 1977-1978 - Private practice, Atlanta, Georgia, 1977-1978 - Born November 7, 1951, in Apalachicola, Florida. - Date of birth: 1951-01-01 - Birth place: Apalachicola, FL ## 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/1382196) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382196) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382196) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1468/robert-lewis-hinkle/) - [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/1468/robert-lewis-hinkle/) - [Judge Robert Lewis Hinkle](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1382196) - [Wikidata: Robert Lewis Hinkle](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7346884) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-lewis-hinkle", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-lewis-hinkle", "name": "Robert Lewis Hinkle | KnowJudges", "description": "Robert Lewis Hinkle, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. 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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.