--- title: "Sheri Polster Chappell | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sheri-p-chappell" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Sheri Polster Chappell U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida - State: Florida - 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, M.D. Florida, 2013-present - Federal judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013 and confirmed by the Senate 90–0 - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 2003-2013 - She had previously held the role of a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the same district from 2003 to 2013 - Judge, Circuit Court of Florida, Twentieth Judicial Circuit, 2000-2003 - 2000–2003: Judge, Lee County Circuit Court, Florida - Assistant state attorney, Twentieth Judicial Circuit, FL, 1987-2000 - Judge Chappell welcomes law clerks and interns, with preference for top‐ranked law students ### Education - University of Wisconsin–Madison - Nova Southeastern University - University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire ### Additional information - The Senate confirmed her on May 20, 2013, and she received her commission the next day. - Nominated on January 4, 2013 to replace Judge Gregory A. Presnell, who took senior status in 2012. - Date of birth: 1962-01-01 - Birth place: Sheboygan, WI ## 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: Assisted-Listening Headsets Headsets that enhance volume . Audio/Visual Players VHS and DVD players . Document Cameras (ELMO) Devices that display on a large screen a hardcopy document placed on the document camera . [Courtroom Technology | Middle District of Florida | United States District Court](https://www.flmd.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/1394206) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394206) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394206) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/589/sheri-polster-chappell/) - [Courtroom Technology | Middle District of Florida | United States District Court](https://www.flmd.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/589/sheri-polster-chappell/) - [Wikidata: Sheri Polster Chappell](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7494853) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sheri-p-chappell", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sheri-p-chappell", "name": "Sheri Polster Chappell | KnowJudges", "description": "Sheri Polster Chappell, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. 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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.