--- title: "Robert M. Spector | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-m-spector-connecticut-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Robert M. Spector U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut - State: Connecticut - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, appointed in 2018 for a renewable eight‐year term - 2002–2018: Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, New Haven, CT — roles included: Supervisor of statewide gang and firearms unit (2007–2010) Deputy Chief of Appeals Unit (2011–2013) Chief of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (2014–2018) Leader of opioid epidemic task force (2016–2018) He also taught constitutional and criminal law at Hartford high schools and led opioid awareness programs statewide District of Connecticut - Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Connecticut, 2005–2010 - Deputy Chief, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Connecticut - Violent Crimes & Narcotics Unit, 2007–2007 - Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Connecticut, 2005–2007 - Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Connecticut, 2002–2005 - Assistant Attorney General, State of Connecticut - Appellate Bureau, 1998–2001 - State prosecutor, Appellate Bureau, Connecticut Chief State’s Attorney’s Office (1998–2001) - Adjunct Professor, Univ. of Connecticut - Law School, 1998–2001 - 1996–1998: Law clerk to Hon. Alan H. Nevas, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut - Judge Spector serves in Courtroom 5 at the New Haven federal courthouse, 141 Church Street, New Haven, CT District of Connecticut ### Education ### Additional information - J.D. — Yale Univ. — 1996 - B.A. — Colgate Univ. — 1993 — summa cum laude - As a magistrate judge, he handles pretrial matters, discovery disputes, and other cases delegated under the federal magistrate judge system - He occasionally rules from the bench and encourages oral argument in motions, especially for less experienced attorneys District of Connecticut ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=9) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=9) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=9) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9132/robert-m-spector/) - [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/9132/robert-m-spector/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Robert M. Spector](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9132/robert-m-spector/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Robert M. Spector](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-m-spector-connecticut-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-m-spector-connecticut-us-magistrate", "name": "Robert M. Spector | KnowJudges", "description": "Robert M. Spector, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. 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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-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.