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Donald O'Brien (Iowa)
Donald Eugene O'Brien was an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. He joined the court in 1978 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter. O'Brien served on senior status until he passed away on August 18, 2015, at the age of 91.[1][2]
Education
A native of Iowa, O'Brien served and enlisted in the US Army as a Air Corps Lieutenant from 1942 to 1945 before graduating from Creighton University Law School with his J.D. degree in 1948.[2]
Military service
O'Brien served in the U.S. Army as an Air Corps Lieutenant from 1942 to 1945.[2]
Professional career
- 1967-1978: Attorney in private practice, Sioux City, Iowa
- 1961-1967: United States attorney, Northern District of Iowa
- 1959-1960: Judge, Sioux City Municipal Court
- 1955-1958: County attorney, Woodbury County, Iowa
- 1949-1953: Assistant city attorney, Sioux City, Iowa
- 1948-1949: Attorney in private practice, Sioux City, Iowa[2]
Judicial nominations and appointments
Northern District of Iowa
On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Edward Zorinsky, O'Brien was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on September 27, 1978, to a seat vacated by William Hanson as Hanson went on senior status to both the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa. O'Brien was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 4, 1978, and received commission on October 5, 1978. O'Brien served as the chief judge for the Northern District of Iowa from 1985 to 1992 before assuming senior status on December 30, 1992. On August 18, 2015, at the age of 91, O'Brien passed away.[1][2]
Southern District of Iowa
O'Brien Started out his federal judicial career with the Southern District of Iowa from 1978 to 1990 before being re-assigned to the Northern District of Iowa in 1990 as Congress approved that the judgeship authorized to serve both districts of Iowa was reassigned to serve only the Northern District of Iowa under 104 Stat. 5089.[2]
See also
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
- United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
External links
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
- Donald O'Brien at the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: William Hanson |
Northern District of Iowa 1978–1992 Seat #2 |
Succeeded by: Mark Bennett |
| Preceded by: William Hanson |
Southern District of Iowa 1978–1990 |
Succeeded by: '
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges | |||
| Senior judges | |||
| Magistrate judges | Kelly K.E. Mahoney • Mark Roberts (Iowa) • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Edward McManus • Donald O'Brien (Iowa) • Mark Bennett (Iowa) • David R. Hansen • Michael Melloy • Oliver Perry Shiras • Henry Thomas Reed • George Cromwell Scott • Henry Graven • William Hanson (federal judge) • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Linda Reade • Edward McManus • Donald O'Brien (Iowa) • Mark Bennett (Iowa) • Michael Melloy • Henry Graven • Leonard T. Strand • | ||
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |
Ballantine • Bownes • Boyle • Bua • Carr • Clark • Cowan • Daly • Filippine • Higginbotham • Hoeveler • Hug • Johnstone • Kane • Keith • Leval • Logan • MacLaughlin • McKay • Melton • Merritt • Murphy • Nickerson • Oberdorfer • Roszkowski • Roy • Rubin • Sifton • Tang • Vance • Veron | ||
| 1978 |
Arnold • Baker • Boyle • Burns • Campos • Claiborne • Collins • Cook • Devine • Diamond • Duplantier • Edenfield • Friedman • Gonzalez • Greene • Jenkins • Lowe • Mazzone • McMillian • O'Brien • Pfaelzer • Phillips • Pollak • Sand • Shapiro • Simmons • Smith • Sweet • Tanner • Wiseman • Ziegler | ||
| 1979 |
Ackerman • Alarcon • Anderson • Arceneaux • Arnold • Aspen • Beatty • Beer • Belew • Bertelsman • Bilby • N. Black • S. Black • Bloch • Bowen • Brett • Brooks • Brown • Buchmeyer • Bunton • Burciaga • Cabranes • Carr • Carrigan • Castagna • Cire • Clark • Cohn • Conaboy • Cordova • Crabb • Cudahy • Davis • DeAnda • Debevoise • Edwards • Eginton • Ellison • Enslen • O. Evans • T. Evans • Farris • Ferguson • Fletcher • Frye • Garcia • Garza • B. Gibson • H. Gibson • Gierbolini-Ortiz • Giles • Gilliam • Green • Hall • Hastings • Hatchett • Hatfield • Hatter • Hawkins • Henderson • Higby • Hillman • Houck • Howard • Hudspeth • Hungate • F. Johnson • S. Johnson • N. Jones • S. Jones • Karlton • Kazen • Kearse • Keeton • Kehoe • Kennedy • Kidd • King • Kravitch • Loughlin • Martin • McCurn • McDonald • McNaught • McNichols • Mikva • Mitchell • Moran • Murnaghan • Murphy • D. Nelson • D.W. Nelson • Newblatt • Newman • Overton • Paine • Panner • J. Parker • R. Parker • Penn • Perez-Gimenez • Perry • Politz • Poole • Porter • Pregerson • Price • Rambo • Ramirez • Reavley • Redden • E. Reed • S. Reed • Reinhardt • Renner • Robinson • Rothstein • Sachs • Saffels • Sanders • Sarokin • Schroeder • Schwartz • Seay • Senter • Seymour • Shannon • Shaw • Shoob • Skopil • Sloviter • Sofaer • Spellman • Sprouse • Staker • Tate • Taylor • Thompson • Tidwell • Unthank • Vietor • Vining • Wald • Ward • Weinshienk • West • Wicker • Williams • Winder • Woods • Wright • Zobel | ||
| 1980 |
Aguilar • Aldrich • Anderson • Boochever • Breyer • Britt • Cahill • Canby • Carroll • Cerezo • Clemon • S. Ervin • R. Erwin • Getzendanner • Gilmore • Ginsburg • Haltom • Hardy • Henderson • Hobbs • Holschuh • Horton • Howard • Johnson • Keep • Kelly • Kenyon • Kocoras • Marquez • Marshall • Michael • Nixon • Norris • Patel • Polozola • Propst • Quackenbush • Ramsey • Rice • Shadur • Spiegel • Tashima • Thompson • Vela • White • Williams | ||
| 1981 | |||
