--- title: "Robert Michael Dow Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-michael-dow-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Robert Michael Dow Jr. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - U.S. federal judge and current Counselor to Chief Justice John Roberts, having served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2007 until his appointment to the Chief Justice’s office in 2022 - Judge, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 2007-present - 3, 2022, succeeding Jeffrey P. Minear This role is the Chief Justice’s chief of staff, coordinating Supreme Court operations and policy - Early Career: Law clerk to Judge Joel M. Flaum, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1993–1994) - Counselor to Chief Justice John Roberts since Oct ### Education - Harvard University — J.D. (1993) - Yale University — B.A. (1987) - Brasenose College - University of Oxford ### Additional information - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1995-2007 - Date of birth: 1965-01-01 - Birth place: Madison, WI ## 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/1392656) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392656) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392656) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/906/robert-michael-dow-jr/) - [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/906/robert-michael-dow-jr/) - [Wikidata: Robert Michael Dow Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7347656) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-michael-dow-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robert-michael-dow-jr", "name": "Robert Michael Dow Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "Robert Michael Dow Jr., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 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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.