--- title: "Stephen Chad Meredith | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-c-meredith" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Stephen Chad Meredith U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky - State: Kentucky - 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 - United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, appointed on November 3, 2025 by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate on October 23, 2025 - Law clerk, Hon. Amul R. Thapar, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, 2008-2009 - Law clerk, Hon. John M. Rogers, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2007-2008 - Meredith’s career reflects a blend of judicial clerkship experience, state-level appellate litigation leadership, and private litigation practice, with a strong background in constitutional and administrative law ### Education - J.D. summa cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2007. - B.A. summa cum laude from Washington and Lee University in 2004, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa. - Washington and Lee University — B.A. (2003) ### Additional information - He later returned to private practice in Cincinnati, Ohio (2021–2025) - Solicitor general, Commonwealth of Kentucky, 2019-2021 - From 2019 to 2021, he held the role of Kentucky’s first solicitor general - Matt Bevin, Kentucky, 2015-2019 (title changed to solicitor general, 2019) - In 2015, he joined Governor Matt Bevin’s administration as chief deputy general counsel (later titled solicitor general). - Private practice, Lexington, Kentucky, 2011-2015 - He then worked in private practice in Louisville (2009–2011) and Lexington (2011–2015). - Private practice, Louisville, Kentucky, 2009-2011 - Born 1981. - overseeing all civil and criminal appellate litigation for the Commonwealth. - Chief deputy general counsel, Gov. - As U.S. District Judge, Meredith presides over federal cases in the Eastern District of Kentucky, including civil, criminal, and bankruptcy matters. - Meredith was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and is the son of Stephen Meredith, a former Kentucky State Senator. - He is a member of the Federalist Society ## 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: **As of May 2023 Lexington Courtroom A Courtroom Technology has been updated** . The new courtroom evidence presentation technology includes the following . Laptop inputs for HDMI, USB C, Display Port, and Mini Display Port (No VGA input option) . [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Kentucky | United States District Court](https://www.kyed.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/13762069) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762069) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762069) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Kentucky | United States District Court](https://www.kyed.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) - [Judge Stephen Chad Meredith](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13762069) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-c-meredith", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-c-meredith", "name": "Stephen Chad Meredith | KnowJudges", "description": "Stephen Chad Meredith, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. 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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.