---
title: "James B. Loken | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-b-loken"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# James B. Loken

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- James Burton Loken is an American federal judge serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit since 1990
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1990-present
- Still serves as an active judge; as of 2018, he was the oldest active Eighth Circuit judge
- Law clerk, Hon. Byron White, Supreme Court of the United States, 1966-1967
- Law clerk, Hon. J. Edward Lumbard, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1965-1966
- He clerked for Judge J. Edward Lumbard on the Second Circuit (1965–66) and for Justice Byron White on the U.S. Supreme Court (1966–67)
- Official site: Eighth Circuit – Judge Loken

### Education

- Harvard University — LL.B. (1965)
- Harvard Law School — J.D. (1965)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison — B.S. (1962)

### Additional information

- General counsel, President's Committee on Consumer Interests, 1970-present
- Chief Judge: April 1, 2003 – March 31, 2010
- Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 2003-2010
- Appointed: September 10, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush to replace Gerald Heaney
- Confirmed: October 12, 1990, by the U.S. Senate; commissioned October 17, 1990
- Private practice, Minneapolis, MN, 1973-1990
- Private practice, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1967-1970, 1973-1990
- Staff assistant, President Richard M. Nixon, 1970-1972
- Private practice, Minneapolis, MN, 1967-1970
- Born May 21, 1940, Madison, Wisconsin.
- Date of birth: 1940-01-01
- Maine East High School
- Loken is married to Caroline Loken.
- Birth place: Madison, WI

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.

Evidence excerpt: Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383986)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383986)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383986)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1959/james-b-loken/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1959/james-b-loken/)
- [Judge James B. Loken](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1383986)
- [Wikidata: James B. Loken](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6129136)

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