Chief Judge Elizabeth Wolford has signed General Order #161 on behalf of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.  General Order #161 is the Court’s updated Courthouse Security and Limitations on the Possession and Use of Cameras, broadcast, communications and recording equipment and Personal Electronics Device Policy.  The effective date of General Order #161 is November 9, 2023.

Except as provided in the attached Order, no person may possess or use a camera or PED in the United States Courthouses and United States Court facilities in the Western District of New York. Further, all such devices are subject to inspection and confiscation to determine whether there has been a violation of General Order #161. Unless explicitly allowed per this order, members of the general public shall turn off all cameras, PEDs, and recording devices and surrender them to Court Security upon entry into the Courthouses or Court Facilities. 

Court-issued identification Cards will be required for attorneys to bring PED's into the courthouse.  Cards will be issued between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM daily, at the courthouses in Buffalo and Rochester.  An application form is attached below. 

Attachments:

Courthouse Security & Limitations on the Possession & Use of Personal Electronic Devices, November 9, 2023
PED Application Form

Note:  All attached documents are in Adobe Acrobat PDF file format.  You will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view these documents.  If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may get it here.