James Edward Gritzner (born November 19, 1947) is a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Education and career

Gritzner was born on November 19, 1947 in

Charles City, Iowa Charles City is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Iowa. Charles City is a significant commercial and transportation center for the area. U.S. Routes 18 and 218, Iowa Highway 14, and the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railr ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech from Dakota Wesleyan University in 1969, and a Master of Arts degree in verbal behavior from the University of Northern Iowa in 1974. He initially planned to be a professional choral director and competed in debate. From 1967 to 1976, Gritzner worked as a radio and television reporter in South Dakota and Iowa. He received 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 Drake University Law School in 1979. During Gritzner's third year of law school, he worked as a full-time law clerk to then- United States Magistrate Judge Ronald Longstaff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. From 1979 to 1981, Gritzner was an associate of the

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

, law firm Mosier, Thomas, Beatty, Dutton, Braun, and Staack. The firm is now known as Dutton, Daniels, Hines, Kalkhoff, Cook & Swanson. From 1981 to 1982, he worked at Humphrey, Haas and Gritzner, a new law firm in

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, before leaving after a dispute about the propriety of attorney advertising under ethical rules. Gritzner then joined Nyemaster Goode in Des Moines, where he made partner in 1986. Gritzner litigated at Nyemaster until his appointment to the bench. One of Gritzner's specialties was litigation over catastrophic fires and explosions, in which he maintained a nationwide practice. He published an article on Iowa's tort law and comparative negligence in the

Drake Law Review Drake University Law School is a professional graduate law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 330 full-time students. The school is led by Dean Jerry Anderson. Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of t ...

. 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.

Robert D. Ray Robert Dolph Ray (September 26, 1928 – July 8, 2018) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. He served as the 38th governor of Iowa from January 16, 1969 to January 14, 1983. During his tenure as governor, Ray served as chair of t ...

appointed Gritzner to the Iowa Board of Parole from 1980 to 1982. 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.

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 Charles Robert Wolle (October 16, 1935 – December 6, 2022) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Education Born in Sioux City, Iowa ...

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. In addition to his trial court service, Gritzner regularly sits by designation on the federal courts of appeals.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gritzner, James E. 1947 births Living people 21st-century American judges Dakota Wesleyan University alumni Drake University Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa People from Charles City, Iowa United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush University of Northern Iowa alumni