United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa (S.D. Iowa)
Map
Appeals to	Eighth Circuit
Established	July 20, 1882
Judges assigned	3
Chief judge	John Alfred Jarvey
Official site

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa (in case citations, S.D. Iowa) has jurisdiction over forty-seven of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States District Court for the District of Iowa, established on March 3, 1845, by 5 Stat. 789,^[1][2] was subdivided into the current Northern and Southern Districts on July 20, 1882, by 22 Stat. 172.^[2] Initially, one judge was assigned to each District.

By 1927, a backlog of unresolved cases dating back to 1920 had developed.^[3] In October 1927, Judge Martin Joseph Wade announced that he "was through" attempting to try cases requiring more than one day, but urged Congress to create a second judgeship for the Southern District of Iowa.^[3] On January 19, 1928, President Calvin Coolidge signed into law a bill that authorized a second judgeship for the District, with the proviso that when the existing judgeship (held by Judge Wade) becomes vacant, it shall not be filled unless authorized by Congress.^[4] When the original judgeship became vacant upon Wade's death in 1931, Congress did not act to reauthorize it, leaving the Southern District with a single judgeship.^[5] A second judgeship in the Southern District was not reauthorized by Congress until 1979, with the creation of the judgeship first held by Harold Duane Vietor.^[6]

In 1962, Congress created a new judgeship that would be shared by the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa.^[7] The shared judgeship was replaced in 1990 when the shared judgeship (then held by Judge Donald Eugene O'Brien) was assigned entirely to the Northern District, and a third Southern District judgeship (first held by Judge Ronald Earl Longstaff) was authorized.^[8]

John Alfred Jarvey, Stephanie Marie Rose and Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger currently serve on the bench as full, Article III judges while Ronald Earl Longstaff, Robert W. Pratt, Harold Duane Vietor, Charles Wolle, and James E. Gritzner have the status of senior judges.

It is headquartered at the United States Court House in Des Moines, with satellite facilities in Council Bluffs and at the United States Court House in Davenport. Nicholas A. Klinefeldt is the current United States Attorney.

Current Judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
18	Chief Judge	John Alfred Jarvey	Davenport	1956	2007–present	2015–present	—	G.W. Bush
19	District Judge	Stephanie Marie Rose	Des Moines	1972	2012–present	—	—	Obama
20	District Judge	Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger	Des Moines	1975	2016–present	—	—	Obama
13	Senior Judge	Harold Duane Vietor	Des Moines	1931	1979–1996	1985–1992	1996–present	Carter
14	Senior Judge	Charles Robert Wolle	Des Moines	1935	1987–2001	1992–2001	2001–present	Reagan
15	Senior Judge	Ronald Earl Longstaff	Des Moines	1941	1991–2006	2001–2006	2006–present	G.H.W. Bush
16	Senior Judge	Robert W. Pratt	Des Moines	1947	1997–2012	2006–2011	2012–present	Clinton
17	Senior Judge	James E. Gritzner	Des Moines	1947	2002–2015	2011–2015	2015–present	G.W. Bush

Former Judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Age at appointment	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Love, James M.James M. Love	IA	1820–1891	1882–1891[Note 1]	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Pierce, Pierce	death
2	Woolson, John SimsonJohn Simson Woolson	IA	1840–1899	1891–1899[Note 2]	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Harrison, B.B. Harrison	death
3	McPherson, SmithSmith McPherson	IA	1848–1915	1900–1915	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	McKinley, McKinley	death
4	Wade, Martin JosephMartin Joseph Wade	IA	1861–1931	1915–1931	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Wilson, Wilson	death
5	Dewey, Charles AlmonCharles Almon Dewey	IA	1877–1958	1928–1949	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1949–1958	Coolidge, Coolidge	death
6	Switzer, Carroll O.Carroll O. Switzer	IA	1908–1960	1949–1950[Note 3]	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Truman, Truman	not confirmed
7	Riley, William F.William F. Riley	IA	1884–1956	1950–1956	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Truman, Truman	death
8	Hicklin, Edwin RichleyEdwin Richley Hicklin	IA	1895–1963	1957–1960	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1960–1963	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
9	Stephenson, Roy LaverneRoy Laverne Stephenson	IA	1917–1982	1960–1971	1961–1971	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	reappointment
10	Hanson, William CookWilliam Cook Hanson	IA	1909–1995	1962–1977	1971–1977	{{{age at appointment}}}	1977–1995	Kennedy, Kennedy	death
11	Stuart, William CorwinWilliam Corwin Stuart	IA	1920–2010	1971–1986	1977–1985	{{{age at appointment}}}	1986–2010	Nixon, Nixon	death
12	O'Brien, Donald EugeneDonald Eugene O'Brien	IA	1923–2015	1978–1990	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Carter, Carter	reassignment

1. Reassigned from the District of Iowa
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 10, 1891, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 11, 1892, and received commission on January 11, 1892.
3. Recess appointment; the United States Senate later rejected the appointment.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat reassigned from the District of Iowa on July 20, 1882 by 22 Stat. 172 Love 1882–1891 Woolson 1892–1899 McPherson 1900–1915 Wade 1915–1931 Seat abolished on April 16, 1931 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 2 Seat established on January 19, 1928 by 45 Stat. 52 (temporary) Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 1 on April 16, 1931 Dewey 1928–1949 Switzer 1949–1950 Riley 1950–1956 Hicklin 1957–1960 Stephenson 1960–1971 Stuart 1971–1986 Wolle 1987–2001 Gritzner 2002–2015 Ebinger 2016–present

Seat 3 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 (concurrent with Northern District) Hanson 1962–1977 O'Brien 1978–1990 Seat reassigned solely to Northern District on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089

Seat 4 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Vietor 1979–1996 Pratt 1997–2012 Rose 2012–present

Seat 5 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Longstaff 1991–2006 Jarvey 2007–present

See also

• Courts of Iowa
• List of United States federal courthouses in Iowa

Notes

1. Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 394.
2. U.S. District Courts of Iowa, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
3. "Judge Wade Hits Delayed Legal Cases," Sioux City Journal, 1927-10-06, p. 1.
4. Pub. L. No. 6, ch. 10, 70th Cong., 1st Sess, 45 Stat. 52.
5. "No Additional Judgeship Created in Southern Iowa," Atlantic News-Telegraph, 1931-04-18 p. 5.
6. 92 Stat. 1629.
7. 75 Stat. 80.
8. 104 Stat. 5089.

External links

• Southern District website
• US Attorney for the Southern District
• Active district court judges
• Senior status judges