--- title: "James E. Gritzner | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-e-gritzner" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # James E. Gritzner U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa · Senior District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - State: Iowa - Role: Senior District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, S.D. Iowa, 2002-2015 - 1981–1982: Partner at Humphrey, Haas & Gritzner in Des Moines - James Edward Gritzner is an American judge who held the role of a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and previously as Chief Judge of that court ### Education - University of Northern Iowa — M.A. (1974) - Dakota Wesleyan University — B.A. (1969) - Drake University Law School ### Additional information - Chief Judge: 2011–2015 - Private practice, 1979-2002 - Member, Iowa Board of Parole, 1980-1982 - He also served on the Iowa Board of Parole (1980–1982) and as primary prosecutor for the Iowa State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct - Assistant, U.S. Magistrate Ronald Longstaff, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa, 1977-1979 - Born November 19, 1947, in Charles City, Iowa. - Date of birth: 1947-01-01 - Born in Charles City, Iowa, and raised in Plainfield, Iowa, and Spring Valley, Minnesota, Gritzner initially considered a career as a choral director before entering law - Gritzner was known for his expertise in tort law, especially fire and explosion cases, and for his role in legal ethics enforcement. - He also served on the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability for the U.S. Judicial Conference - Birth place: Charles City, IA ## 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 ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: Our courtrooms are open for demonstration and testing upon request. We highly encourage parties to come in prior to a trial/hearing to test and get familiar with the courtroom technology. This is especially true if parties will be presenting from their own laptop. [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of Iowa | United States District Court](https://www.iasd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391436) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391436) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1391436) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1292/james-e-gritzner/) - [Courtroom Technology | Southern District of Iowa | United States District Court](https://www.iasd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-technology) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1292/james-e-gritzner/) - [Wikidata: James E. Gritzner](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6133105) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-e-gritzner", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-e-gritzner", "name": "James E. Gritzner | KnowJudges", "description": "James E. Gritzner, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-09", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-e-gritzner#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-e-gritzner#judge", "name": "James E. 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Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.