United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

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Southern District of Iowa
Eighth Circuit
IA-SD Seal.png
Judgeships
Posts: 3
Judges: 3
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Stephanie Rose
Active judges:
Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, Stephen Locher, Stephanie Rose

Senior judges:
James Gritzner, Ronald Longstaff, Robert Pratt


The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa is one of 94 United States district courts. It is headquartered in Des Moines, with satellite facilities in Council Bluffs and Davenport. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse and Building.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, out of the court's three judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Stephanie Rose

Barack Obama (D)

September 17, 2012 -

University of Iowa, 1994

University of Iowa Law, 1996

Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger

Barack Obama (D)

February 16, 2016 -

Georgetown University, 1997

Yale Law School, 2004

Stephen Locher

Joe Biden (D)

July 18, 2022 -

University of Notre Dame, 2000

Harvard Law School, 2003


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 3
  • Republican appointed: 0

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Ronald Longstaff

George H.W. Bush (R)

November 5, 2006 -

Kansas State College, 1962

University of Iowa College of Law, 1965

Robert Pratt

Bill Clinton (D)

July 1, 2012 -

Loras College, 1969

Creighton University School of Law, 1972

James Gritzner

George W. Bush (R)

March 1, 2015 -

Dakota Wesleyan University, 1969

Drake University Law School, 1979


Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 1
  • Republican appointed: 2

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Helen C. Adams

February 13, 2014 -

University of Iowa, 1985

University of Iowa, 1988

Stephen B. Jackson Jr.

February 3, 2015 -

University of Notre Dame, 1988

University of Iowa, 1991


Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges

For more information about the judges of the Southern District of Iowa, see former federal judges of the Southern District of Iowa.

Jurisdiction

Iowa counties (click for larger map)

The Southern District of Iowa has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are three court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Central Division, covering Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Boone, Clarke, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Greene, Guthrie, Jasper, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Story, Taylor, Union, Wapello, Warren and Wayne counties

The Eastern Division, covering Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Johnson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott, Van Buren and Washington counties

The Western Division, covering Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby counties

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in August 2023. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 1,491 1,688 1,037 3 0 497 39 11 11 23 4
2011 1,283 1,323 896 3 0 428 30 10 9 24 4
2012 1,356 1,430 941 3 2 452 32 10 7 26 4
2013 1,192 1,291 852 3 0 397 42 9 9 20 4
2014 1,181 1,198 829 3 0 394 28 9 10 29 5
2015 1,258 1,251 835 3 10 419 35 9 9 23 4
2016 1,481 1,282 1,024 3 1 494 29 9 10 20 3
2017 1,254 1,398 878 3 0 418 37 9 10 22 5
2018 1,396 1,369 902 3 0 465 45 9 9 19 4
2019 1,369 1,317 952 3 0 456 39 9 10 14 3
2020 1,201 1,144 1,000 3 0 400 44 11 7 22 5
2021 1,175 1,291 888 3 0 392 51 21 5 21 5
2022 1,154 1,177 873 3 0 385 41 11 11 27 6
Average 1,292 1,320 916 3 1 431 38 11 9 22 4

History

The District of Iowa was established by Congress on March 3, 1845, with one post to cover the entire state. Since the District of Iowa was not yet assigned to a judicial circuit, it was granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts, excluding appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court.

On July 15, 1862, Statute 12 Stat. 576 repealed the circuit court jurisdiction of the District of Iowa and instead established a United States circuit court in the district, and then assigned the district over to the Ninth Circuit. Statute 14 Stat. 209 on July 23, 1866, reorganized the circuits and assigned the District of Iowa to the Eighth Circuit.

The State of Iowa was divided into two circuits, the Northern and the Southern, on July 20, 1882 by statute 22 Stat. 172. One judgeship was assigned to each district. Over time two additional judicial posts were added for a total of three current posts.[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Southern District of Iowa:[7]

Year Statute Total Seats
March 3, 1845 5 Stat. 789 1
July 20, 1882 22 Stat. 172 1
January 19, 1928 45 Stat. 52 2 (1 temporary)
May 19, 1961 75 Stat. 80 2 (1 temporary)
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 3 (1 temporary)
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 3 (1 temporary)

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, click here.

Federal courthouse

Three separate courthouses serve the Southern District of Iowa located in Des Moines, Davenport, and Council Bluffs.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[9][10]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[11]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through July 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Joe Biden had the most district court appointments with 156.


Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[10]

Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[12]


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ U.S. District Court - NH, "Magistrate Judges," archived April 14, 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary," accessed April 26, 2021
  8. ↑ Bloomberg Businessweek, "Judge: Feds can seize pension of former Iowa jobs agency executive blamed for spending scandal," June 12, 2012
  9. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  11. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  12. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"
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