--- title: "Sharon Johnson Coleman | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-johnson-coleman" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Sharon Johnson Coleman 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, 2010-present - Judge, Illinois Circuit Court, Cook County, 1996-2008 - Deputy state's attorney and chief of Public Interest Bureau, Cook County, IL, 1993-1996 - Returning to Cook County, she became Deputy State’s Attorney and Bureau Chief for the Public Interest Bureau from 1993 to 1996 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois, 1989-1993 - She then held the role of an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 1989 to 1993 - Assistant state's attorney, Cook County, IL, 1984-1989 - Began her legal career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County from 1984 to 1989 ### Education - Washington University School of Law in — J.D. (1984) - Bachelor of Arts in History from Northern Illinois University in 1981 - Washington University in St. Louis ### Additional information - received her commission on July 13, 2010 - Illinois Appellate Court, First District, 3rd Division, from 2008 to 2010 On February 24, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated her to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, filling the seat vacated by Mark Filip. - Joined the Cook County Circuit Court in 1996, where she worked in the Child Protection Division and the Law Division. - Date of birth: 1960-01-01 - Coleman has been involved with numerous professional organizations, including the American Constitution Society, Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Judges Association, and the National Black Prosecutors Association. - She has received awards such as the C.F. Stradford Award, Esther Rothstein Award, and the Meritorious Service Award from the Illinois Judicial Council - Birth place: Chicago, IL ## 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/1393276) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393276) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393276) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/676/sharon-johnson-coleman/) - [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/676/sharon-johnson-coleman/) - [Wikidata: Sharon J. Coleman](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7490102) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-johnson-coleman", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-johnson-coleman", "name": "Sharon Johnson Coleman | KnowJudges", "description": "Sharon Johnson Coleman, 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.