--- title: "Terry L. Wooten | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terry-l-wooten" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Terry L. Wooten U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina - State: South Carolina - 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 - Judge, District Court, D. South Carolina, 2001-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, having assumed senior status on February 28, 2019 - 2013–2019: Chief Judge of the District of South Carolina - 2001–2019: Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Nominated: September 4, 2001, by President George W. Bush Confirmed: November 8, 2001, by the Senate, 98–0 Commissioned: November 26, 2001 - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina, 1999-2001 - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of South Carolina, 1992-1999 - Assistant solicitor, Richland County, SC, 1982-1986 - His nephew is Will Wooten, a deputy District Attorney in Fulton County, Georgia ### Education - University of South Carolina School of Law ### Additional information - 2019–present: Senior Judge - Chief counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 1986-1991 - Private practice, South Carolina, 1980-1982 - Date of birth: 1954-01-01 - Current Role: As a senior judge, Wooten continues to hear cases on a part-time basis, while no longer serving in full-time judicial duties - Birth place: Louisville, KY ## 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: . Document Camera While many documents are displayed using a laptop computer, the courtroom’s evidence presentation cart features a high definition document camera that can display paper documents and objects on the courtroom monitors. The document camera zoom lens can display even the smallest details of any object. [SCD - Electronic Courtrooms Table of Contents](https://coop.scd.uscourts.gov/eCourtroom/index.asp) 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/1391366) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391366) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391366) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3558/terry-l-wooten/) - [SCD - Electronic Courtrooms Table of Contents](https://coop.scd.uscourts.gov/eCourtroom/index.asp) - [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/3558/terry-l-wooten/) - [Wikidata: Terry L. Wooten](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7704646) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terry-l-wooten", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terry-l-wooten", "name": "Terry L. Wooten | KnowJudges", "description": "Terry L. Wooten, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. 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/terry-l-wooten#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terry-l-wooten#judge", "name": "Terry L. 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Wooten", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/terry-l-wooten" } ] } ] } ``` ## 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 | 140 | 140 | 6.4 | 140 | | 10y | 682 | 682 | 10.5 | 682 | 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.