--- title: "Sarala Vidya Nagala | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarala-v-nagala" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Sarala Vidya Nagala U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut - State: Connecticut - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - U.S. District Judge for the District of Connecticut, appointed in 2021, and the first judge of South Asian descent on that court - On June 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, replacing Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant, who took senior status in 2021 - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Connecticut, 2012-2021; deputy chief, Major Crimes and National Security Unit, 2016-2017; deputy chief, Major Crimes Unit, 2017-2021 - She clerked for Judge Susan P. Graber on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2008–2009) before joining Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco (2009–2012). - Law clerk, Hon. Susan P. Graber, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2008-2009 ### Education ### Additional information - from FY 2020–FY 2025, Nagala granted a downward variance in 73.1% of her federal sentencing cases, often citing factors such as prior employment, age, mental/emotional conditions, rehabilitation, and remorse. - The Senate confirmed her on October 27, 2021, and she received her judicial commission on November 2, 2021, being sworn in on November 3, 2021. - Visiting clinical lecturer in law (prosecution externship), Yale Law School, 2017-2019 - Private practice, San Francisco, California, 2009-2012 - Born in 1983 in Oakes, North Dakota, Judge Nagala earned her B.A. in Public Policy from Stanford University in 2005 and her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2008. - Date of birth: 1983 - In Zone D (imprisonment-only recommended) cases, 75.4% fell below the guideline range. - Birth place: Oakes ## 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 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: . If a party intends to use a PowerPoint or other exhibits that were not previously filed on the docket during an oral argument, the presentation and/or new exhibits must be shared with opposing counsel at least twenty-four hours in advance of the oral argument. Counsel will generally be prohibited from using any presentation and/or… [Sarala V. Nagala | District of Connecticut | United States District Court](https://www.ctd.uscourts.gov/content/sarala-v-nagala) 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/10931811) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10931811) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10931811) - [Sarala V. Nagala | District of Connecticut | United States District Court](https://www.ctd.uscourts.gov/content/sarala-v-nagala) - [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) - [Judge Sarala Vidya Nagala](https://www.fjc.gov/node/10931811) - [Wikidata: Sarala Nagala](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107252273) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarala-v-nagala", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sarala-v-nagala", "name": "Sarala Vidya Nagala | KnowJudges", "description": "Sarala Vidya Nagala, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. 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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.