--- title: "Sara Lee Ellis | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sara-lee-ellis" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Sara Lee Ellis 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 - Judge, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 2013-present - Sara L. Ellis is a federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 ### Education - Loyola University Chicago School of Law — J.D. (1994) - Indiana University Bloomington — B.A. (1991) ### Additional information - 2008–2013: Counsel at Schiff Hardin LLP, in litigation and white-collar crime practice She also held the role of a board member of the Federal Judicial Center since 2023 and is a faculty member at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, teaching Federal Criminal Practice - She had a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on June 19, 2013, and was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 2013 by voice vote, receiving her commission the next day - On May 6, 2013, President Obama nominated Ellis to replace Joan B. Gottschall, who had assumed senior status in 2012. - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 2008-2013 - Assistant corporation counsel, Chicago, IL, 2004-2008 - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 2000-2004 - Staff attorney, Federal Defender Program, Chicago, IL, 1994-2000 - Date of birth: 1969-01-01 - Birth place: London, Ontario, Canada ## 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/1394286) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394286) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394286) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/987/sara-lee-ellis/) - [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/987/sara-lee-ellis/) - [Wikidata: Sara L. Ellis](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16198843) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sara-lee-ellis", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sara-lee-ellis", "name": "Sara Lee Ellis | KnowJudges", "description": "Sara Lee Ellis, 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.