--- title: "Royce C. Lamberth | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/royce-c-lamberth" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Royce C. Lamberth U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia - State: District of Columbia - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - He has also served as a visiting judge in the Western District of Texas since 2015 - He held the role of Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 2008 to 2013 and assumed senior status on July 15, 2013 - Judge, District Court, District of Columbia, 1987-2013 - Appointed Presiding Judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court) from 1995 to 2002 by - Assistant U.S. attorney, Civil Division, District of Columbia, 1974-1987; assistant division chief, 1977-1978; division chief, 1978-1987 - He later worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and became chief of the civil division in 1978, a position he held until his federal judicial appointment - Lamberth held the role of a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1968 to 1974, including a year in Vietnam. ### Education - He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas in 1966 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Texas School of Law in 1967, where he was a member. - B.A. — The University of Texas at Austin — 1965 ### Additional information - Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2008-2013 - He repeatedly ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and held Interior secretaries in contempt, though some rulings were later reversed, and he was eventually removed from the case by the Court of Appeals in 2006. - received his commission on November 16, 1987. - Assistant U.S. attorney, Civil Division, DC, 1974-1987 - U.S. Army captain, JAG Corps, 1967-1974 - Royce Charles Lamberth was born on July 16, 1943, in San Antonio, Texas. - Date of birth: 1943-01-01 - Cobell v. - Kempthorne: Lamberth presided over this class-action lawsuit involving Native Americans suing the U.S. Department of the Interior for mismanagement of trust funds. - Tejas Club - He has also chaired committees within the Judicial Conference of the United States, including the Committee on Inter-Circuit Assignments United States Courts. - He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and the District of Columbia Bar. - Lamberth also contributed to drafting the Federal Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct for Federal Lawyers United States Courts. - Birth place: San Antonio, TX ## 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/1383591) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383591) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383591) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1844/royce-c-lamberth/) - [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/1844/royce-c-lamberth/) - [Judge Royce C. Lamberth](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383591) - [Wikidata: Royce C. Lamberth](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7375156) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/royce-c-lamberth", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/royce-c-lamberth", "name": "Royce C. Lamberth | KnowJudges", "description": "Royce C. Lamberth, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-08", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/royce-c-lamberth#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/royce-c-lamberth#judge", "name": "Royce C. 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Lamberth", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/royce-c-lamberth" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 47 | 3 | Not available | 3 | | 2y | 118 | 21 | 4.4 | 21 | | 5y | 396 | 225 | 5.2 | 225 | | 10y | 760 | 572 | 8.1 | 572 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. 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.