Senior District judge
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Virginia
Overview
Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.
Background
Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project public biographical data. Demographic and political labels are incomplete, source-attributed, and are not used to infer judicial behavior. “Via appointer” describes CourtListener’s attribution method, not verified personal party membership.
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.
Statewide and courtwide guidance is labeled by scope and is not evidence of a personal preference. Division, judge-specific, or case-specific orders may control.
Presentation rules
Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge.
Evidence Presentation System . EVIDENCE PRESENTATION SYSTEMS . The Court’s evidence presentation system allows attorneys to : .
The official-source excerpt is preserved and remains subject to current-source verification.
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.
The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.
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.
The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.
Courtroom technology
Technology availability is separate from procedural permission and evidentiary admissibility.
Published opinion footprint
This does not mean the judge has no published opinions or no caseload. KYJ will only show opinion counts after transparent, source-linked CourtListener matching is available.
Sources
Identity source · HTML · retrieved July 25, 2026
https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386181Identity source · HTML · retrieved July 29, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2523/robert-e-payne/Courtwide · HTML · retrieved July 24, 2026
https://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/evidence-presentation-systemCourtwide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedureCourtwide · HTML · retrieved July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courtsChange history
Identity imported from Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory. 3 presentation-related claims migrated with source provenance.