--- title: "William Fremming Nielsen | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-f-nielsen" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-03" --- # William Fremming Nielsen U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington - State: Washington - 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, E.D. Washington, 1991-2003 - Law clerk, Hon. Charles L. Powell, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington, 1963-1964 - Retired senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ### Education - Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington in 1956 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Washington School of Law in 1962. ### Additional information - Inactive senior status: Assumed May 31, 2024. - As of May 31, 2024, Nielsen is on inactive senior status, meaning he no longer actively hears cases but remains part of the court’s bench for historical and reference purposes. - Senior status: Assumed May 30, 2003. - Chief Judge: 1995–2000. - Before his judicial career, he held the role of a U.S. Air Force first lieutenant from 1956 to 1959 and later in the reserves, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1994. - Nominated: March 21, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush to replace Robert J. McNichols. - Confirmed: May 9, 1991, by the U.S. Senate; commissioned May 14, 1991. - Private practice, Spokane, WA, 1964-1991 - Private practice, Spokane, Washington, 1964-1991 - Born August 8, 1934, in Seattle, Washington. - Date of birth: 1934-01-01 - Birth place: Seattle, WA ## 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: District Court for the Eastern District of Washington uses a system that allows evidence admitted for a trial to be viewed electronically in the jury deliberation room upon the conclusion of the trial. The Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) provides easy access to evidence during the deliberations through the use of a touchscreen monitor in… [JERS Information | Eastern District of Washington | United States District Court](https://www.waed.uscourts.gov/about-court/courtroom-support/courtroom-technology/jers-information) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . The Eastern District of Washington has electronic evidence display systems in all courtrooms in Spokane, Yakima, and Richland. While the functions of the equipment are the same, some of the equipment may differ between the courtrooms. [Electronic Evidence Display in the Courtrooms | Eastern District of Washington | United States District Court](https://www.waed.uscourts.gov/about-court/courtroom-support/courtroom-technology/electronic-evidence-display-courtrooms) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: . Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) Information . Electronic Evidence Display . [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Washington | United States District Court](https://www.waed.uscourts.gov/about-court/courtroom-support/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/1385736) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385736) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385736) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2411/william-fremming-nielsen/) - [JERS Information | Eastern District of Washington | United States District Court](https://www.waed.uscourts.gov/about-court/courtroom-support/courtroom-technology/jers-information) - [Electronic Evidence Display in the Courtrooms | Eastern District of Washington | United States District Court](https://www.waed.uscourts.gov/about-court/courtroom-support/courtroom-technology/electronic-evidence-display-courtrooms) - [Courtroom Technology | Eastern District of Washington | United States District Court](https://www.waed.uscourts.gov/about-court/courtroom-support/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/2411/william-fremming-nielsen/) - [Judge William Fremming Nielsen](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385736) - [Wikidata: William Fremming Nielsen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8009432) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-f-nielsen", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/william-f-nielsen", "name": "William Fremming Nielsen | KnowJudges", "description": "William Fremming Nielsen, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. 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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.