Bruce M. Snell Jr.

Professional career

• Judge, Court of Appeals of Iowa, 1976-present
• Bruce M. Snell Jr. (1929–2019) was an American judge who served on the Iowa Supreme Court from 1987 until his retirement in 2001
• Iowa Court of Appeals Judge (1976–1987)
• He maintained a solo practice in Ida Grove until 1976, when Governor Robert Ray appointed him to the Iowa Court of Appeals
• Bruce Morey Snell Jr. was born August 18, 1929, in Ida Grove, Iowa, the son of Justice Bruce M. Snell Sr
• He later practiced law in New York City, returned to Iowa, and worked as Assistant Iowa Attorney General
• Snell held the role of law clerk to Judge Henry N. Graven of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa

Education

Additional information

• Bruce M. Snell Jr. died December 20, 2019, in Ida Grove, Iowa, at age 90.
• In 1987, Governor Terry Branstad appointed him to the Iowa Supreme Court, a position he held until August 18, 2001, succeeding Charles R. Wolle and preceding Michael Streit.
• His appointment followed in the footsteps of his father, who served on the Iowa Supreme Court from 1961 to 1970
• He then attended the University of Iowa College of Law, where he was Editor of the Iowa Law Review, elected to the Order of the Coif (top 10% of law students), and graduated in 1956
• He graduated from Ida Grove High School in 1947, obtained a B.A. from Grinnell College in 1951, and served two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
• He was remembered as a dedicated jurist, community leader, and the last surviving member of his pioneer family in Ida Grove