--- title: "Wes R. Porter | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/wes-r-porter-hawaii-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Wes R. Porter U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii - State: Hawaii - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Visiting Professor, Univ. of Hawaii - William S. Richardson School of Law, from 2021 - Wes Reber Porter is a United States Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, appointed in 2019 to a renewable eight‐year term - Visiting Professor, Univ. of Hawaii - William S. Richardson School of Law, 2018–2019 - Trial Counsel in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps (1998–2001) - Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Dept of Justice - Criminal Division - Fraud Section - Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Hawaii - Professor & Director, Golden Gate Univ. - School of Law - Litigation Center ### Education - He continues to teach and mentor, and has completed coursework for an LLM at Duke University School of Law ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, D. Hawaii, 2019-present - Position: U.S. Magistrate Judge (appointed 2019, renewable 8‐year term) - J.D. — Catholic Univ. — 1998 - Enforcement Attorney, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - Committed to legal education reform and practical skills training in law schools - He presides over a broad range of civil and criminal cases in federal court, serves as a mediator in civil matters, and manages criminal hearings and warrant reviews on a rotating basis - focusing on the perspective of the accused and evidence/procedure injustices. - He has also been recognized with the Assistant Attorney General Award for Distinguished Service for his work in white‐collar crime cases, including as part of the Enron Task Force ## 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.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=97) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=97) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=97) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9208/wes-r-porter/) - [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/9208/wes-r-porter/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Wes R. Porter](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9208/wes-r-porter/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Wes R. Porter](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/wes-r-porter-hawaii-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/wes-r-porter-hawaii-us-magistrate", "name": "Wes R. Porter | KnowJudges", "description": "Wes R. Porter, U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. 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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-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.