--- title: "Summer Speight | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/summer-speight-virginia-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Summer Speight U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia - State: Virginia - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=36) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=36) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=36) - [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) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/summer-speight-virginia-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/summer-speight-virginia-us-magistrate", "name": "Summer Speight | KnowJudges", "description": "Summer Speight, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. 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Speight is a United States Magistrate Judge for the Richmond Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, sworn in on March 30, 2023 - Law clerk to Hon. M. Hannah Lauck, then a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia (now a U.S. District Judge) - Partner, McGuireWoods LLP, Richmond, VA — focused on employment law, labor law, and employee benefits litigation - Judge Speight was selected for an eight‐year term by the United States District Judges of the Eastern District of Virginia, following a volunteer merit selection panel’s recommendation ### Education - magna cum laude, Order of the Coif — University of Richmond School of Law — J.D. ### Additional information - As a magistrate judge, she handles certain federal cases, including Social Security appeals, under 28 U.S.C.. 636(c) and related provisions. - Narrow application of Mascio v. - Colvin to “moderate” mental limitations, not “mild” or “no” limitations, consistent with Eastern District precedent - Discrediting treating source opinions when internally inconsistent with the same source’s own notes - Public records show Judge Speight has issued at least 14 signed orders, including Social Security appeals, some as final decision‐makers with party consent and others via adopted reports and recommendations. ## 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.