David Rasmussen Hansen (born March 16, 1938) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa The United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (in case citations, N.D. Iowa) has jurisdiction over fifty-two of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (except for patent claims and ...

Early life, education

Born in Exira,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, Hansen received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Worl ...

in 1960, where he was a member of

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...

Fraternity, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

in 1963.

Career

He was in private practice in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, Iowa, from 1963 to 1964. He attended The JAG School at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and entered U.S. Army JAG Corps from 1964 until 1968. He was in private practice in

Iowa Falls Iowa Falls is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. Iowa Falls is the home of Ellsworth Community College. It is also a regional transportation center, located along U.S. Routes 20 and 65 and the Canadian National and Union Pacific Rai ...

, Iowa, from 1968 to 1976.

Judicial career

He was a judge on the police court, Iowa Falls, from 1969 to 1973, and was a partner in Win-Gin Farms, in Iowa Falls, Iowa, from 1971 to the present. He was chairman, Hardin county Republican central committee, from 1975 to 1976. He was a judge on the 2nd judicial district, Iowa district court, from 1976 to 1986. Hansen was a United States district judge of the

. He was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, on February 3, 1986, to a seat vacated by

Edward Joseph McManus Edward Joseph McManus (February 9, 1920 – March 20, 2017) served as the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for over 50 years. Education ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, on March 3, 1986, and received his commission on March 4, 1986. Hansen served in that capacity until November 18, 1991, when he was elevated to the court of appeals.

Nomination to the Eighth Circuit

Hansen is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He was nominated by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

, on July 30, 1991, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the

, on November 15, 1991, and received his commission on November 18, 1991. He served as Chief Judge, from 2002 to 2003. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on April 1, 2003.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, David R. 1938 births Living people 20th-century American judges George Washington University Law School alumni Iowa state court judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa Iowa Republicans Northwest Missouri State University alumni People from Audubon County, Iowa United States Army officers United States court of appeals judges appointed by George H. W. Bush United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan