--- title: "Sheryl Halle Lipman | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sheryl-halle-lipman" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-02" --- # Sheryl Halle Lipman U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee - State: Tennessee - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - The Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, a position she has held since January 20, 2023 - Judge, District Court, W.D. Tennessee, 2014-present - university counsel, 2002-2014 - Law clerk, Hon. Julia S. Gibbons, U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee, 1987-1988 - Current position: Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee ### Education - University of Michigan - New York University School of Law ### Additional information - Judicial service: Judge since May 1, 2014, appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 30, 2014 - vice president, 1997-present - director of programs, 1996-present - University of Memphis, 1999-2014 - senior attorney, 1999-2002 - Private practice, Memphis, TN, 1997-1999 - Memphis Race Relations and Diversity Institute, 1996-1997 - Private practice, Memphis, TN, 1991-1995 - Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1988-1991 - Born 1963 in Memphis, Tennessee. - Date of birth: 1963-01-01 - Birth place: Memphis, TN ## 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/1394446) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394446) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394446) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1945/sheryl-halle-lipman/) - [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/1945/sheryl-halle-lipman/) - [Wikidata: Sheryl H. Lipman](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16731540) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sheryl-halle-lipman", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sheryl-halle-lipman", "name": "Sheryl Halle Lipman | KnowJudges", "description": "Sheryl Halle Lipman, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. 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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.