FILED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
December 24, 2014
GENERAL ORDER 14-11
IN RE: POSSESSION AND USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES BY BAR
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General Order 10-17 of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Kentucky prohibits the public from possessing “wireless communication devices in a
U.S. Courthouse located within the Eastern District of Kentucky except as permitted by
the presiding judge.” Effective January 5, 2015, members of the Bar of the Court,
properly identified, may possess and use electronic devices1 in the public areas and
courtrooms of any Courthouse in the District, subject to the following restrictions:2
(1) Before granting entry to a Bar member possessing an electronic device,
Court Security Officers and/or the United States Marshals Service may visually examine
the device. The examination, which shall not extend to any review of content, may
include any physical inspection (to include x-ray or other screening) deemed necessary
and appropriate by the Marshals Service or its designee;
(2) At all times during in-court proceedings, any electronic device must
operate in a silent mode;
1
“Electronic device” embraces any and all equipment (regardless of how it is powered or
operated) that can be used for (1) wireless communication; (2) receiving, creating, capturing,
storing, retrieving, sending, or broadcasting any signals or any text, sound, or images; or (3)
accessing the internet or any other network or off-site system or equipment for communication or
for storing or retrieving information.
2
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky may promulgate
separate policies and procedures governing the use of electronic devices in its Courtrooms and
other space(s) in District Court facilities in which bankruptcy trustees conduct creditor meetings
or confirmation hearings or in which the Bankruptcy Court conducts other proceedings.
(3) If at any time, an electronic device causes interference with any courtroom
equipment (such as the court’s microphones), the user must immediately disable the
device or eliminate the interference problem;
(4) Absent leave from the presiding judge, Bar members may not use any
electronic device to send data messages, including but not limited to text messages, e-
mails, SMS messages, or voice communications from any courtroom during a judicial
proceeding;
(5) Absent leave from the presiding judge, Bar members may not use any
electronic device in a Courthouse to capture or record – either audibly or visually – the
Courthouse, courtroom environs, judges, court personnel, participants, jurors or
courtroom proceedings;
(6) Except as provided in ¶ (5), this order is subject to modification by any
presiding District, Bankruptcy, or Magistrate Judge as may be warranted on a case-by-
case basis. The Court will not allow any distracting or disruptive device use.
(7) This General Order extends only to members of the Court’s Bar. A Bar
member granted electronic device privileges by this Order may not thereby allow any
client, witness, litigant, criminal defendant, or other third-party to access, use, or possess
an electronic device within any Courthouse. Further, the permission granted by this Order
does not extend to any non-public area of the Courthouse. Absent advance, situation-
specific approval from the Marshal, no Bar member may take an electronic device into or
use such device in the USMS cell-block or holding area.
Violation of this Order may, in the discretion of the Court, result in citation for
contempt, device confiscation and other sanctions, including but not limited to
prohibiting any violator from possessing electronic devices pursuant to this Order in the
future.
Nothing in this Order shall be construed as creating any exception to Federal Rule
of Criminal Procedure 53 or Judicial Conference policy as to civil proceedings, which
prohibits taking photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or
broadcasting judicial proceedings from the courtroom, or LR 83.9(b), to the extent it
prohibits operating video or audio recording, broadcasting or transmitting devices or
equipment, as such, in any courtroom.
The Court expects Bar members to act under this Order with the high degree of
professionalism, diligence, and honor befitting officers of the Court.
On proper motion of a Bar member, and as to a particular case, the Court will
extend the permission in this Order to any attorney for the United States (acting per 28
U.S.C. § 515) or attorney admitted under LCrR 57.2 or LR 83.2. The Court will hold any
such attorney to the standards of this Order.
Except as stated, General Order 10-17 remains in full force and effect.
Dated December 24, 2014.
