Michael Adrian Ponsor at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- Jurisdiction
- Massachusetts · Federal
- Judicial service
- February 14, 1994–present
Michael Adrian Ponsor
Judge · U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Available research
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Biography
Professional career
- Professional Career: Private practice, Boston, Massachusetts, 1976-1978
- Professional Career: Private practice, Amherst, Massachusetts, 1978-1983
- Professional Career: Adjunct professor, Western New England College of Law, 1988-
- Adjunct professor, Yale Law School, 1989-1991
- Adjunct professor, Western New England College of Law, 1988-present
- U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1984-1994
- Private practice, Amherst, MA, 1978-1983
- Private practice, Boston, MA, 1976-1978
- Law clerk, Hon. Joseph Tauro, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1975-1976
Judicial service
- Judge, District Court, D. Massachusetts, 1994-2011
Education
- Harvard University · B.A., 1969
- Yale University · J.D., 1975
- Pembroke College
- University of Oxford · M.A., 1979
Personal record
Born 1946 · Chicago, IL
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/1386441CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2592/michael-adrian-ponsor/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