--- title: "Travis Randall McDonough | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/travis-r-mcdonough" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Travis Randall McDonough U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee - State: Tennessee - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - The Chief United States District Judge of the Eastern District of Tennessee, a position he has held since September 10, 2020, following the death of his predecessor, Judge Pamela L. Reeves - Judge, District Court, E.D. Tennessee, 2015-present ### Education - Vanderbilt University — J.D. (1997) - Sewanee-The University of the South — B.A. (1994) - Vanderbilt University Law School ### Additional information - September 10, 2020: Became Chief Judge - Chief of staff and counselor to Mayor Andy Berke, Chattanooga, TN, 2013-2015 - Private practice, Chattanooga, TN, 1997-2013 - Date of birth: 1972-01-01 - Before joining the judiciary, he had extensive experience in both private litigation and municipal government - As Chief Judge, McDonough presides over the Eastern District of Tennessee’s federal court, which covers Chattanooga and surrounding areas. - Birth place: Chattanooga, TN ## 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: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: All exhibits that can be put into electronic form must be in electronic form. The jurors will not receive physical copies of any exhibits which can exist in electronic form, but instead will view them on an electronic evidence display system in the jury room. The Court does not provide the jury copies of depositions… [Travis R. McDonough, Chief United States District Judge | Eastern District of Tennessee | United States District Court](https://www.tned.uscourts.gov/content/travis-r-mcdonough-chief-united-states-district-judge) 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/1394821) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394821) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394821) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8601/travis-randall-mcdonough/) - [Travis R. McDonough, Chief United States District Judge | Eastern District of Tennessee | United States District Court](https://www.tned.uscourts.gov/content/travis-r-mcdonough-chief-united-states-district-judge) - [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/8601/travis-randall-mcdonough/) - [Wikidata: Travis Randall McDonough](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18739764) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/travis-r-mcdonough", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/travis-r-mcdonough", "name": "Travis Randall McDonough | KnowJudges", "description": "Travis Randall McDonough, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. 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/travis-r-mcdonough#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/travis-r-mcdonough#judge", "name": "Travis Randall McDonough", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/travis-r-mcdonough", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394821", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8601/travis-randall-mcdonough/" ], "birthDate": "1972", "birthPlace": "Chattanooga, TN", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Sewanee-The University of the South" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Vanderbilt University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Vanderbilt University Law School" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Tennessee", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/tennessee" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Travis Randall McDonough", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/travis-r-mcdonough" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 146 | 4 | Not available | 4 | | 2y | 359 | 88 | 2.4 | 88 | | 5y | 838 | 534 | 4.6 | 534 | | 10y | 1769 | 1464 | 7.3 | 1464 | 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.