Dabney Langhorne Friedrich at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Jurisdiction
- District of Columbia · Federal
- Judicial service
- December 1, 2017–present
Dabney Langhorne Friedrich
Judge · U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Available research
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Biography
Professional career
- staff member detailed to Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2017-present
- Commissioner, U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2006-2017
- Associate counsel to President George W. Bush, 2003-2006
- Counsel to U.S. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 2002-2003
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Major Crimes and Fraud Sections, Eastern District of Virginia, 1998-2002
- Department of Justice Campaign Financing Task Force, 1997-1998
- Border Crimes Section, 1995-1997
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of California, 1995-1998
- Private practice, San Diego, CA, 1994-1995
Judicial service
- Law Clerk, District Court, District of Columbia, 1992-1994
- Judge, District Court, District of Columbia, 2017-present
Education
- University of Oxford · Diploma in Legal Studies, 1989
- Yale University · J.D., 1992
- Trinity University
Personal record
Born 1967 · Pensacola, FL
Courtroom rules and guidance
Civil Remote Testimony
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.
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 ↗
Criminal Recording And Broadcasting
Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.
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 ↗
Sources
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · checked July 25, 2026
https://www.fjc.gov/node/4022586CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8575/dabney-langhorne-friedrich/Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedureFederal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts