---
title: "Virginia Emerson Hopkins | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/virginia-emerson-hopkins"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Virginia Emerson Hopkins

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
- State: Alabama
- Role: 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, N.D. Alabama, 2004-present
- Inactive senior United States district judge

### Education

- B.A. — University of Alabama and her J.D. in 1977 from the University of Virginia School of Law (1974)

### Additional information

- Commissioned: June 17, 2004.
- Confirmed: June 15, 2004, by the Senate (98–0 vote).
- Private practice, Anniston, AL, 1991-2004
- Anniston, Alabama (1991–2004)
- Nominated: October 14, 2003, by President George W. Bush to a seat vacated by.
- Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1978-1991
- Private practice, Birmingham, AL, 1977-1978
- Birmingham, Alabama (1977–1978)
- Born May 6, 1952, in Anniston, Alabama.
- Date of birth: 1952-01-01
- Inactive and no longer presides over cases, but her rulings and historical record remain part of the Northern District of Alabama’s judicial history.
- Birth place: Anniston, AL

## 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/1392131)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392131)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392131)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1515/virginia-emerson-hopkins/)
- [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/1515/virginia-emerson-hopkins/)
- [Wikidata: Virginia Emerson Hopkins](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7934258)

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## 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 | 0 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 10y | 357 | 357 | 4.7 | 357 |

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.