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Media Information

The Clerk's Office has prepared this informational guide to foster cooperation between the Court and the media for coverage of trials and hearings in the District.

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts has published A Journalist's Guide to Federal Courts to assist reporters who cover appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts – the cases, the people, and the process. It also offers basic information for journalists writing about the federal court system as a whole.

The Case Information page provides information on cases that have received significant public and media attention and will include any case-specific information for media.

The judge presiding over a case is fully responsible for the trial in his/her courtroom, and expects the media to comply with terms that he/she may specify. Accordingly, specific information and/or procedures concerning a trial or hearing may be issued or implemented by the judge presiding over the particular matter. For select proceedings, media may be required register for court-issued media credentials.

No one should telephone a judge’s chambers or courtroom deputy clerk. All questions that cannot be answered by the links on this page or that cannot be answered with publicly available information may be directed to: publicaccess@tnmd.uscourts.gov.

General Courthouse Information:

  • The courthouse opens up to the public at 8:00 a.m. Central.
  • All persons entering the courthouse are subject to the courthouse security procedures. All briefcases, purses, parcels, bags, backpacks, and other items shall be passed through X-ray scanners and shall be subject to search.
  •  A valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license or U.S. Passport may be required to enter the courthouse for select proceedings.
  • Unless otherwise restricted by a judicial officer, after clearing security, an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, an electronic tablet, or a personal data assistant (PDA), regardless of the technology used or the name by which the device is marketed, may be brought into any public area in the courthouse.  However, these items may be prohibited in courtrooms where proceedings are conducted.
  • There is absolutely no photography, video, or recording permitted anywhere within the courthouse. 

General Information for the Media:

  • Interviews of any kind must be conducted outside of the courthouse.
  • Court records are available through PACER (fees apply).
  • Opinions designated by a judge as written opinions will be made available without charge through PACER and also available through the U.S. Government Printing Office
  • Transcripts: Orders for transcripts should be directed to the court reporter who produced the record. Financial arrangements for payment at the rates listed in the court's fee schedule, set by the Judicial Conference, will be made when transcripts are ordered. 
  • Local Rules of Court

Point of Contact: Lynda M. Hill, Clerk of Court, serves as the Court’s Public Information Officer