--- title: "Susan Ritchie Bolton | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-r-bolton" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Susan Ritchie Bolton U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona - State: Arizona - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. Arizona, 2000-present - Judge, Arizona Superior Court, Maricopa County, 1989-2000 - Law clerk, Hon. Laurance T. Wren, Arizona Court of Appeals, 1975-1977 ### Education - University of Iowa — B.A. (1973) - University of Iowa College of Law ### Additional information - Private practice, Phoenix, AZ, 1977-1989 - Date of birth: 1951-01-01 - Birth place: Philadelphia, PA ## 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: U.S. District Court, District of Arizona Portable Electronic Video Presentation Systems in Magistrate Courtrooms Phoenix Courtroom 302, 303, 304 and 305 Tucson Courtroom 3A, 3B, 3C, 5E, 5F, 6E and 6F Plan Ahead to Use the Equipment Contact the Courtroom Clerk 25-30 days before your trial or hearing to schedule a courtroom technology review and… [AV_Mag_Judge_Courtrooms_-_PHX_and_TUC.pdf](https://www.azd.uscourts.gov/sites/azd/files/judge-orders/AV_Mag_Judge_Courtrooms_-_PHX_and_TUC.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: U.S. District Court, District of Arizona Electronic Video Presentation Systems in Evidentiary/Trial Courtrooms Phoenix 4th floor, 5th floor, 6th floor and Special Proceedings Courtrooms Tucson 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 6A, 6B, 6D and Special Proceedings Courtrooms Flagstaff Courtroom and Yuma Courtroom 1 Plan Ahead to Use the Equipment Contact the Courtroom Clerk 25-30 days before… [AV_Evidentiary_and_Trial_Courtrooms_-_All_Locations.pdf](https://www.azd.uscourts.gov/sites/azd/files/judge-orders/AV_Evidentiary_and_Trial_Courtrooms_-_All_Locations.pdf) 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/1391256) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391256) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391256) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/322/susan-ritchie-bolton/) - [AV_Mag_Judge_Courtrooms_-_PHX_and_TUC.pdf](https://www.azd.uscourts.gov/sites/azd/files/judge-orders/AV_Mag_Judge_Courtrooms_-_PHX_and_TUC.pdf) - [AV_Evidentiary_and_Trial_Courtrooms_-_All_Locations.pdf](https://www.azd.uscourts.gov/sites/azd/files/judge-orders/AV_Evidentiary_and_Trial_Courtrooms_-_All_Locations.pdf) - [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/322/susan-ritchie-bolton/) - [Wikidata: Susan R. Bolton](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7648322) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-r-bolton", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/susan-r-bolton", "name": "Susan Ritchie Bolton | KnowJudges", "description": "Susan Ritchie Bolton, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. 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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.