--- title: "Sarah Ellis | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-ellis" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Sarah Ellis Massachusetts Superior Court · Associate Justice ## Profile - Court: Massachusetts Superior Court - State: Massachusetts - Role: Associate Justice - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## 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 ### remote hearings Scope: courtwide Massachusetts Superior Court Standing Order 1-26 identifies which criminal and civil proceedings are presumptively remote or in person, while allowing the presiding judge to change the format under the order's standards. Evidence excerpt: certain criminal and civil proceedings may be conducted remotely (e.g., by computer, videoconference, or telephone) pursuant to this Standing Order [Superior Court Standing Order 1-26: Remote hearings](https://www.mass.gov/superior-court-rules/superior-court-standing-order-1-26-remote-hearings) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### remote recording Scope: courtwide Photographing, recording, or electronically transmitting a Massachusetts Superior Court remote or hybrid hearing requires prior authorization from the supervising judge or clerk-magistrate. Evidence excerpt: No person shall take any photographs, or make any recording or transmission by electronic means, of a remote or hybrid court hearing, without prior authorization from the judge or clerk magistrate [Superior Court Standing Order 1-26: Remote hearings](https://www.mass.gov/superior-court-rules/superior-court-standing-order-1-26-remote-hearings) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### recording and photography Scope: statewide In Massachusetts courts, photography, recording, or electronic transmission in a courtroom or related judicial space requires prior authorization from the judge or magistrate supervising that place, subject to Rule 1:19's separate provisions for registered news media. Evidence excerpt: No person shall take any photographs, or make any recording or transmission by electronic means, in any courtroom, hearing room, office, chambers or lobby of a judge or magistrate without prior authorization [Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19: Electronic access to the courts](https://www.mass.gov/supreme-judicial-court-rules/supreme-judicial-court-rule-119-electronic-access-to-the-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/superior-court-justices) - [Official roster](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/superior-court-justices) - [Massachusetts Court System official judicial roster](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/superior-court-justices) - [Superior Court Standing Order 1-26: Remote hearings](https://www.mass.gov/superior-court-rules/superior-court-standing-order-1-26-remote-hearings) - [Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19: Electronic access to the courts](https://www.mass.gov/supreme-judicial-court-rules/supreme-judicial-court-rule-119-electronic-access-to-the-courts) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-ellis", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-ellis", "name": "Sarah Ellis | KnowJudges", "description": "Sarah Ellis, Massachusetts Superior Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-07-26", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-ellis#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-ellis#judge", "name": "Sarah Ellis", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-ellis", "jobTitle": "Associate Justice", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "Massachusetts Superior Court" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.mass.gov/info-details/superior-court-justices" ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Massachusetts", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/massachusetts" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sarah Ellis", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-ellis" } ] } ] } ``` ## Biography ### Professional career - Sara L. Ellis is a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 - From 2008 to 2013, she was counsel at Schiff Hardin LLP - She then worked in private practice at Stetler, Duffy & Rotert, Ltd. (2000–2004) and as assistant corporation counsel for the Chicago Department of Law (2004–2008) ### Education - Loyola University Chicago School of Law — J.D. (1994) - Indiana University Bloomington — B.A. (1991) ### Additional information - Ellis has served as a board member of the Federal Judicial Center since 2023 Federal Judicial Center - On May 6, 2013, President Obama nominated Ellis to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, replacing Joan B. Gottschall, who had taken senior status - received her commission on October 8, 2013 - Began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Federal Defender Program in Chicago (1994–1999) - Sara Lee Ellis was born in 1969 in London, Ontario, Canada, to Jamaican-born parents, and became a U.S. citizen at age 15 - As a district judge, Ellis presides over a wide range of federal cases, including civil, criminal, and bankruptcy matters ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:19: Electronic access to the courts](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-20acbd9da185f40e1f10b2b2) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.mass.gov/supreme-judicial-court-rules/supreme-judicial-court-rule-119-electronic-access-to-the-courts). Collected 2026-07-26.