James E. Gritzner
James E. Gritzner (born 1947) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
James E. Gritzner | |
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Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa | |
Assumed office March 1, 2015 | |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa | |
In office 2011–2015 | |
Preceded by | Robert W. Pratt |
Succeeded by | John Alfred Jarvey |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa | |
In office February 19, 2002 – March 1, 2015 | |
Appointed by | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Charles Robert Wolle |
Succeeded by | Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger |
Personal details | |
Born | 1947 (age 72–73) Charles City, Iowa |
Education | Dakota Wesleyan University (B.A.) University of Northern Iowa (M.A.) Drake University Law School (J.D.) |
Education and career
Gritzner was born in Charles City, Iowa. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dakota Wesleyan University in 1969, and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 1974. He received a Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School in 1979. Before graduating from law school, he served as an assistant to United States Magistrate Judge Ronald Longstaff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa from 1977 to 1979.[1] From 1967 to 1976, Gritzner worked as a radio and television reporter in South Dakota and Iowa.[2]
From 1979 to 1981, Gritzner was an associate of the Waterloo, law firm Mosier, Thomas, Beatty, Dutton, Braun, and Staack.[1] The firm is now known as Dutton, Daniels, Hines, Kalkhoff, Cook & Swanson.[3] From 1981 to 1982, he worked at Humphrey, Haas and Gritzner, a new law firm in Des Moines.[1] Gritzner then left the firm to join Nyemaster Goode in Des Moines, where he made partner in 1986. Gritzner litigated at Nyemaster until his appointment to the bench.[1] One of Gritzner's specialties was litigation over catastrophic fires and explosions, in which he maintained a nationwide practice.[1] He published an article on Iowa's tort law and comparative negligence in the Drake Law Review.[4] Gritzner was also particularly noted for his expertise in legal ethics issues and was the primary prosecutor for the Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct of the Iowa State Bar Association and the Client Security and Attorney Disciplinary Commission of the Iowa Supreme Court.[1] Robert D. Ray appointed Gritzner to the Iowa Board of Parole from 1980 to 1982.[1] Gritzner was regularly involved in Chuck Grassley's Senate campaigns from 1986 until he became a judge, including chairing Grassley's campaign committees throughout the 1990s.[2]
District court service
Gritzner was nominated as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa by President George W. Bush on September 4, 2001, to a seat vacated when Charles R. Wolle took senior status. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 14, 2002 and received his commission on February 19, 2002. He served as chief judge from 2011 to 2015. He assumed senior status on March 1, 2015.[5]
References
- "Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. April 2002. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
- Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, First Session, Part 3. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. 2002.
- "Dutton, Daniels, Hines, Kalkhoff, Cook & Swanson, P.L.C." Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
- Mark A. Humphrey, Fredd J. Haas, and James E. Gritzner, Comparative Negligence in Iowa--The Time Has Come for the Iowa Supreme Court to Put its House in Order, 31 Drake L. Rev. 709 (1981-1982).
- "Gritzner, James E." Federal Judicial Center.
- James E. Gritzner at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Legal offices | ||
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Preceded by Charles Robert Wolle |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa 2002–2015 |
Succeeded by Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger |
Preceded by Robert W. Pratt |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa 2011–2015 |
Succeeded by John Alfred Jarvey |