---
title: "Sue Ellen Myerscough | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sue-ellen-myerscough"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Sue Ellen Myerscough

U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
- State: Illinois
- Role: U.S. District Judge
- Service status: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois (since March 9, 2023)
- Judge, District Court, C.D. Illinois, 2011-present
- U.S. District Judge, Central District of Illinois (2011–2023)
- Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2011, and she assumed senior status in 2023
- Judge, Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, 1998-2011
- Circuit Judge, Illinois Seventh Judicial Circuit (1990–1998)
- Judge, Illinois Circuit Court, Seventh Judicial Circuit, 1987-1998
- Associate Judge, Illinois Seventh Judicial Circuit (1987–1990)
- Began her legal career as a law clerk to Judge Harold A. Baker on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois (1980–1981)
- held the role of Chief Judge of the Illinois Seventh Judicial Circuit and presiding judge of Sangamon County

### Education


### Additional information

- Nominated by President Obama on January 5, 2011 to fill the seat vacated by Judge Jeanne E. Scott, confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2011, and commissioned on March 14, 2011.
- Private practice, Springfield, IL, 1981-1987
- Born in Springfield, Illinois in 1951, Myerscough earned her B.A. in 1973 and her J.D. in 1980 from Southern Illinois University School of Law, where she held the role of editor of the law review.
- Date of birth: 1951-01-01
- Known for her extensive experience in both state and federal courts, with a career spanning over four decades
- Birth place: Springfield, 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/1393641)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393641)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393641)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2371/sue-ellen-myerscough/)
- [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/2371/sue-ellen-myerscough/)
- [Wikidata: Sue E. Myerscough](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7634067)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sue-ellen-myerscough",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sue-ellen-myerscough",
      "name": "Sue Ellen Myerscough | KnowJudges",
      "description": "Sue Ellen Myerscough, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-10-07",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sue-ellen-myerscough#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sue-ellen-myerscough#judge",
      "name": "Sue Ellen Myerscough",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sue-ellen-myerscough",
      "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393641",
        "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2371/sue-ellen-myerscough/"
      ],
      "birthDate": "1951",
      "birthPlace": "Springfield, IL",
      "alumniOf": [
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Southern Illinois University"
        },
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Southern Illinois University School of Law"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Illinois",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/illinois"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Sue Ellen Myerscough",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sue-ellen-myerscough"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 209 | 5 | Not available | 5 |
| 2y | 375 | 45 | 3 | 45 |
| 5y | 762 | 366 | 4.8 | 366 |
| 10y | 1791 | 1380 | 8 | 1380 |

Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/


## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. 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.
