--- title: "Sarah Elizabeth Pitlyk | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-e-pitlyk" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-02" --- # Sarah Elizabeth Pitlyk U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - State: Missouri - Role: 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, E.D. Missouri, MO, 2019-present - Sworn in as a district judge on December 6, 2019 - Law Clerk to the Hon. Brett Kavanaugh, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 2010-2011 - Sarah Elizabeth Pitlyk (née Martin; born 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ### Education - Yale University — J.D. (2008) - Philosophy — Georgetown University — 2006 - Philosophy — Boston College — 1999 ### Additional information - The American Bar Association rated her “Not Qualified” in 2019 due to her lack of trial experience, including never trying a case, examining a witness, or arguing a motion in a trial court - Nominated by President Donald Trump on September 9, 2019 to fill the seat vacated by Judge Catherine D. Perry, who had assumed senior status in 2018. - Special Counsel, Thomas More Society, 2017-2019 - Practitioner, Clark & Sauer LLC, 2013-2016 - Covington & Burling LLP, 2011-2012 - Practitioner, Covington & Burling LLP, 2008-2010 - Date of birth: 1977-01-01 - As a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, Pitlyk presides over federal cases in the district, including civil, criminal, and constitutional matters - She is a member of the Federalist Society, Missouri Bar Association, and other professional organizations ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Telephonic Interpretation for non- English speaking participants . Table interface at the attorney tables to allow connection of laptops for displaying digital documents, video, etc. through the Courtroom multimedia system. [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Missouri | United States District Court](https://www.moed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### 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/7465646) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7465646) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7465646) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15366/sarah-elizabeth-pitlyk/) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Missouri | United States District Court](https://www.moed.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [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/15366/sarah-elizabeth-pitlyk/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-e-pitlyk", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-e-pitlyk", "name": "Sarah Elizabeth Pitlyk | KnowJudges", "description": "Sarah Elizabeth Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 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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.