--- title: "Sarah S. Vance | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-s-vance" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Sarah S. Vance U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - 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 - Judge, District Court, E.D. Louisiana, 1994-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, having assumed senior status on January 16, 2024 - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - 1994 to 2024 - title: Private practice — Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann & Hutchinson - location: New Orleans, Louisiana - focus: antitrust and commercial litigation - 1978 to 1994 ### Education - a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in 1978, where she held the role of managing editor of the Tulane Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif - Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College — B.A. (1971) - Louisiana State University — Arts — B.A. (1971) - B.A. in political science from Louisiana State University in 1971 ### Additional information - In 2022, Vance received the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award from the Supreme Court of the United States — the highest honor for a sitting federal judge. - Judge, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation - 2014 to 2019 - She has also held the role of Chair of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (2014–2019), member of the Judicial Conference of the United States Executive Committee (2010–2013), and on the Federal Judicial Center’s Board of Directors (2003–2007) - She also taught alternative dispute resolution and civil procedure at Tulane Law School and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017 - title: Board member — Federal Judicial Center - 2003 to 2007 - Private practice, New Orleans, LA, 1978-1994 - Date of birth: 1950-01-01 - focusing on antitrust and commercial litigation. - She notably secured a $175 million settlement in a high-profile marine construction price-fixing case. - As Senior Judge, Vance continues to hear cases in the Eastern District of Louisiana and remains active in judicial leadership roles, including service on the Judicial Conduct and Disability Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States - Birth place: Donaldsonville, LA ## 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/1389136) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1389136) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1389136) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3312/sarah-s-vance/) - [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/3312/sarah-s-vance/) - [Wikidata: Sarah S. Vance](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7422750) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-s-vance) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_S._Vance) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://raisingthebar.org/distinguished-jurist/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3312/sarah-s-vance/) - [Wikidata: Sarah S. Vance](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7422750) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-s-vance", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarah-s-vance", "name": "Sarah S. Vance | KnowJudges", "description": "Sarah S. Vance, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. 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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.