Steven Michael Colloton (born January 9, 1963) is a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western Dist ...

since 2003.

Family

Colloton was born in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the tim ...

. He is the son of John W. Colloton, best known for his service as director and CEO for the

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) is an 811-bed public teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center affiliated with the University of Iowa. UI Hospitals and Clinics is part of University of Iowa Health Care, a partnership that inclu ...

from 1971 to 1993. Colloton is also the brother of Ann Colloton. Steven attended

Iowa City West High School Iowa City West High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa. It serves grades 9-12 for the Iowa City Community School District. Athletics The Trojans compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the following sports: *Cross ...

Education

Colloton earned 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 yea ...

degree,

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1985 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 l ...

from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & World ...

in 1988. At Princeton, Colloton was a member of the

Ivy Club The Ivy Club, often simply Ivy, is the oldest eating club at Princeton University, and it is "still considered the most prestigious" by its members. It was founded in 1879 with Arthur Hawley Scribner as its first head. Ivy is one of the "Big Four ...

, then an all-male eating club. While at Yale, Colloton won the

Potter Stewart Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to, among other areas ...

Prize in moot court. He was also an articles editor of the ''

Yale Law Journal The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students ...

''. He published a note defending single-sex student organizations, and in particular Princeton eating clubs like the Ivy Club, in the ''

Yale Law & Policy Review The ''Yale Law & Policy Review'' is a biannual student-run law review at the Yale Law School covering the intersection of law and policy. Past contributors include Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, and Clarence Thomas ...

''. Over the summers at Yale, he worked at Bell, Boyd, & Lloyd, now part of K&L Gates, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, at

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as ...

in Washington, D.C., and for Judge

Edward R. Becker Edward Roy Becker (May 4, 1933 – May 19, 2006) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pen ...

Professional career

Colloton was

Law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge Laurence Silberman of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate co ...

from 1988 to 1989 and for Chief Justice

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...

of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

from 1989 to 1990. Colloton served as a special assistant to the attorney general in the

Office of Legal Counsel The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General's position as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the Attorney ...

within the

United States Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

from 1990 to 1991. He was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...

in 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 ...

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. I ...

from 1991 to 1999. From 1995 to 1996 he was an associate independent counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. He was a partner at Belin McCormick, a 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 ...

, from 1999 to 2001 and served as an adjunct lecturer at the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States by the '' U.S. News & World Report'' "Best Law Sch ...

in 2000. In 2000, Colloton worked for George W. Bush's presidential campaign in Iowa. After Bush's election in 2000, Colloton was appointed

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Southern District of Iowa and served until 2003.

Federal judicial service

Colloton was nominated to the

by President George W. Bush on February 12, 2003, to a seat vacated by David R. Hansen. His nomination was supported by both

Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...

and

Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Io ...

. He was confirmed nearly seven months later by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on September 4, 2003 by a 94–1 vote. He received his commission on September 10, 2003. He was on President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's list of potential Supreme Court candidates. Colloton's former clerks include

Trevor N. McFadden Trevor Neil McFadden (born June 28, 1978) is an American attorney and jurist who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Previously, he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in ...

Aileen Cannon Aileen Mercedes Cannon (born 1981) is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Previously, Cannon worked for the corporate law firm Gibson Dunn in ...

, and Marc Krickbaum. In February 2017, Colloton vacated the enhanced sentences imposed upon members of the Native Mob, finding that Minnesota's definition of

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

was not a violent felony under the

Armed Career Criminal Act The Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 (ACCA) is a United States federal law that provides sentence enhancements for felons who commit crimes with firearms if they are convicted of certain crimes three or more times. If a felon has three or mor ...

References

External links