Magistrate Judge Robert M. Illman

Courtesy/Chambers Copy Requirements

The submission of chambers copies is often required for electronically filed documents. Whereas the local rules state whether and how soon chambers copies must be submitted, judges’ individual standing orders sometimes create additional requirements and may differ from the local rules in other particulars. If they are not in agreement, these orders supersede the local rules.

View general information requirements for courtesy/chambers copies under the local rules.

The pertinent parts of Judge Illman’s standing orders are set forth below:

In e-filing cases, when filing papers in connection with any motion for determination by the Judge, the parties shall, in addition to filing papers electronically, lodge with Chambers one printed copy of the papers in accordance with Civil L.R. 5-1(e)(7). These printed copies shall be delivered by messenger or by mail to Judge Illman’s Chambers at the McKinleyville Federal Courthouse at the address below, regardless of whether the hearing is set in McKinleyville or another courthouse. All copies of filings containing exhibits must contain exhibit tabs, and any copies in excess of 50 pages must be submitted in binders.

Delivery Address

About Magistrate Judge Robert M. Illman

Magistrate Judge Robert M. Illman was appointed to the bench in 2017.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Illman served as a law clerk to Magistrate Judge Nandor J. Vadas in the Northern District of California from 2014 to 2017, and to Chief Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama from 2007 to 2014. Prior to that, Judge Illman served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Montgomery, Alabama, from 2003 to 2007. In that role he represented indigent defendants charged with various crimes in federal trial and appellate courts, as well as representing Alabama’s death row inmates in their federal habeas corpus litigation. Through his broad background as an attorney working for and practicing in the federal courts, Judge Illman has developed extensive experience in all manner of cases brought before the district court.

Judge Illman graduated with a degree in history from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and from the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

All new civil and criminal actions arising in the counties of Del Norte, Lake, Humboldt, and Mendocino are assigned directly to Judge Illman, subject to consent under 28 USC § 636(c)(1). Magistrate Judge Illman can hold case management conferences and hear many types of motions by video-conference if parties prefer to appear in San Francisco rather than travel to McKinleyville. In addition, parties can schedule dispositive motions to be heard on days when Judge Illman is in San Francisco.