Robert Rees Summerhays at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- Jurisdiction
- Louisiana · Federal
- Judicial service
- September 19, 2018–present
Robert Rees Summerhays
Judge · U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Available research
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Biography
Professional career
- Adjunct instructor of business law, B.I. Moody College of Business Administration, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2013-present
- Private practice, Dallas, TX, 1995-2006
- Law Clerk, Hon. W. Eugene Davis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1994-1995
Judicial service
- Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Louisiana, 2006-2018
- Chief Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Louisiana, 2009-2017
- Judge, District Court, W.D. Louisiana, 2018-present
Education
- The University of Texas at Austin · B.A., 1989
- University of Texas School of Law
Personal record
Born 1965 · Fort Worth, TX
Courtroom rules and guidance
Courtroom Technology
Judge-specific source
9. Please contact Judge Summerhays’ Courtroom Deputy, Chrissy Craig, should you need any assistance on exhibit submission or Courtroom Technology Training at (337)593-5021 or email Chrissy_Craig@lawd.uscourts.gov. *Please use an alpha-numeric naming system when saving your exhibits to the flash drive.RRSexhibitguidelines.022425.o.cf_.pdf ↗
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/5197996CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8639/robert-rees-summerhays/RRSexhibitguidelines.022425.o.cf_.pdf
Judge research source · PDF · checked July 24, 2026
https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/RRSexhibitguidelines.022425.o.cf_.pdfFederal 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