--- title: "Thomas Shawn Kleeh | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-shawn-kleeh" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Thomas Shawn Kleeh U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia - State: West Virginia - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - The Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, a position he has held since March 19, 2022 - Judge, District Court, N.D. West Virginia, 2018-present - Office of Counsel to the Senate President, 2015-2017 ### Education - West Virginia University College of Law in, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif — J.D. (1999) - Bachelor of Business Administration from West Virginia University in 1996 - B.S.B.A. — West Virginia University — 1996 ### Additional information - Senate Judiciary Committee, 2018-present - Nomination: February 15, 2018, by President Donald J. Trump to replace Judge Irene Patricia Murphy Keeley. - Commission: November 5, 2018. - Senate Confirmation: October 11, 2018, by a 65–30 vote. - Per diem staff attorney, West Virginia Senate, 2015-2018 - Private practice, Bridgeport, WV, 1999-2018 - From 1999 to 2018, Kleeh practiced law with Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in Bridgeport, WV - Born September 14, 1974. - Date of birth: 1974-01-01 - focusing on labor and employment law in both public and private sectors. - He also held the role of counsel to the West Virginia Senate Committee on the Judiciary and as per diem staff attorney to the Senate President’s Office. - Kleeh was born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia, and graduated from Wheeling Central High School. - Birth place: Wheeling, WV ## 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/5374581) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5374581) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/5374581) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8593/thomas-shawn-kleeh/) - [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/8593/thomas-shawn-kleeh/) - [Wikidata: Thomas S. Kleeh](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q48574081) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-shawn-kleeh", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/thomas-shawn-kleeh", "name": "Thomas Shawn Kleeh | KnowJudges", "description": "Thomas Shawn Kleeh, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. 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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.