--- title: "Terence C. Kern | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terence-c-kern" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Terence C. Kern U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma - State: Oklahoma - 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 - American jurist and Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, having assumed senior status on January 4, 2010 - Judge, District Court, N.D. Oklahoma, 1994-2010 ### Education - University of Virginia School of Law — Judicial Process — LL.M. (2004) - B.S. — Oklahoma State University, a J.D. in 1969 from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, (1966) ### Additional information - Chief Judge: 1996–2003 - Private practice, Ardmore, OK, 1970-1994 - Private practice, Ardmore, Oklahoma, 1970-1994 - He then practiced law privately in Ardmore, Oklahoma, from 1970 to 1994 - He served in the U.S. Army Reserve (1969–1975) and the Oklahoma Army National Guard (1969–1970) - From 1969 to 1970, Kern was a general attorney for the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Compliance, Bureau of Deceptive Practices. - Born September 25, 1944, Clinton, Oklahoma. - Date of birth: 1944-01-01 - Birth place: Clinton, OK ## 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: Public Wi-fi Guidelines . Courtroom Technology . The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma has technology available for use by counsel in all courtrooms. [Court Technology | Northern District of Oklahoma | United States District Court](https://www.oknd.uscourts.gov/Court%20Technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Touch Screen Monitors: The witness box and the VEPS cart have monitors with touch annotation capabilities. Images viewed on each monitor are identical to the images appearing on all other evidence presentation monitors throughout the courtroom. • VEPS Cart Location: The LCD touch monitor on the VEPS cart acts as a control screen and video… [Court_Technology_Courtroom_Video.pdf](https://oknd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/oknd/CourtTechnology/Court_Technology_Courtroom_Video.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/1383256) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383256) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383256) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1758/terence-c-kern/) - [Court Technology | Northern District of Oklahoma | United States District Court](https://www.oknd.uscourts.gov/Court%20Technology) - [Court_Technology_Courtroom_Video.pdf](https://oknd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/oknd/CourtTechnology/Court_Technology_Courtroom_Video.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/1758/terence-c-kern/) - [Judge Terence C. Kern](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383256) - [Wikidata: Terence C. Kern](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7701858) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terence-c-kern", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terence-c-kern", "name": "Terence C. Kern | KnowJudges", "description": "Terence C. Kern, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terence-c-kern#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terence-c-kern#judge", "name": "Terence C. 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Kern", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terence-c-kern" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 2y | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 5y | 146 | 146 | 4.4 | 146 | | 10y | 627 | 619 | 8.5 | 619 | 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.