--- title: "Walter Herbert Rice | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/walter-h-rice" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Walter Herbert Rice U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio - State: Ohio - 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 - Adjunct professor, University of Dayton Law School, 1976-present - He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton School of Law since 1976 - Assistant county prosecutor, Montgomery County, OH, 1969-present - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, having assumed senior status on November 30, 2004 - Judge, District Court, S.D. Ohio, 1980-2004 - Judge, Montgomery County [Ohio] Court of Common Pleas, 1971-1980 - Judge of the Dayton Municipal Court (1970–1971) and Judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas (1971–1980) - Judge, Dayton [Ohio] Municipal Court, 1970-1971 - Assistant county prosecutor, Montgomery County, Ohio, 1964-1966, 1969; first assistant, 1969 - Before federal service, Rice worked in private practice in Dayton, Ohio (1963, 1966–1969) and held the role of Assistant County Prosecutor for Montgomery County, Ohio (1964–1966, 1969). - Assistant county prosecutor, Montgomery County, OH, 1964-1966 ### Education - Columbia Law School — J.D. (1962) - B.A. from Northwestern University in 1958, and in 1962 received both a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Columbia University’s JD–MBA program. ### Additional information - first assistant, 1969-present - Private practice, Dayton, OH, 1963-present - In 2026, Rice announced his retirement after 46 years on the bench, expressing pride in his service and a desire to focus on community work. - In 2018, President Donald Trump signed legislation naming the Dayton federal building the Walter H. Rice Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, officially dedicated in 2019. - Rice has also received the Thomas J. Moyer Award for Judicial Excellence in 2014 - Rice held the role of Chief Judge from 1996 to 2003 before taking senior status in 2004 - He also holds honorary degrees from the University of Dayton (Doctor of Laws, 1991) and Wright State University (Doctor of Humane Letters, 2000) - President Jimmy Carter nominated Rice to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on April 14, 1980, succeeding Timothy Sylvester Hogan. - Confirmed by the Senate on May 21, 1980, and commissioned on May 23, 1980. - Private practice, Dayton, OH, 1966-1969 - Born 1937 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. - Date of birth: 1937-01-01 - Over his career, Rice handled thousands of cases, including civil rights, contract, social security, and personal injury matters. - He emphasized the importance of keeping politics out of the courthouse and trusted younger judges to continue that tradition - Columbia Business School - Birth place: Pittsburgh, PA ## 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: Courtroom Technology . The Court provides evidence presentation equipment to any member of the bar practicing within the Southern District of Ohio. This system displays evidence throughout the courtroom on monitors located on the judge’s bench, clerk’s desk, law clerk’s desk, witness stand, attorney lectern, jury box and counsel table. [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of Ohio | United States District Court](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) 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/1386891) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386891) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386891) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2709/walter-herbert-rice/) - [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of Ohio | United States District Court](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [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/2709/walter-herbert-rice/) - [Judge Walter Herbert Rice](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386891) - [Wikidata: Walter Herbert Rice](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7965129) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/walter-h-rice", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/walter-h-rice", "name": "Walter Herbert Rice | KnowJudges", "description": "Walter Herbert Rice, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. 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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.