--- title: "Timothy Martin Cain | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/timothy-m-cain" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Timothy Martin Cain 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: active - 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, 2011-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, having assumed senior status on October 1, 2026 - Chief Judge of the same court from June 4, 2024, to Oct - Judge, South Carolina Family Court, Tenth Judicial Circuit, 2000-2011 - County attorney, Oconee County, SC, 1992-2000 - Assistant solicitor, Tenth Judicial Circuit, SC, 1988-1989 - Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina – since Oct - Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina – appointed Feb ### Education - Anderson University ### Additional information - Assistant public defender, Oconee Defender Corporation, Seneca, SC, 1987-present - During his tenure on the federal bench, Cain held the role of Chief Judge from 2024 to 2026. - 16, 2011 by President Barack Obama, confirmed by the Senate 99–0 on Sept. - Private practice, Seneca, SC, 1990-2000 - Private practice, Walhalla, SC, 1986-1988 - Born January 19, 1961, in Seneca, South Carolina. - Date of birth: 1961-01-01 - Before his federal judicial appointment, Cain worked in private legal practice in Walhalla and Seneca, held the role of assistant public defender in Seneca, and as assistant solicitor for the 10th Judicial Circuit. - He also acted as county attorney for Oconee County and later as a family court judge in South Carolina - Birth place: Seneca, SC ## 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/1393766) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393766) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393766) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/505/timothy-martin-cain/) - [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/505/timothy-martin-cain/) - [Wikidata: Timothy M. Cain](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7807367) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/timothy-m-cain", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/timothy-m-cain", "name": "Timothy Martin Cain | KnowJudges", "description": "Timothy Martin Cain, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. 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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.