--- title: "Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-g-ebinger" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - State: Iowa - Role: Judge - Service status: active - 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, 2016-present - Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger currently serves as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, a position she has held since receiving her commission on February 16, 2016 after being nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate with an 83–0 vote - Judge, Iowa District Court, Fifth Judicial District (Subdistrict 5C), 2012-2016 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Iowa, 2011-2012 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Iowa, 2009-2010 - Law Clerk, Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2006-2008 - Assistant county attorney, Black Hawk County, Iowa, designated as special assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Iowa, 2004-2006 ### Education - Yale University — J.D. (2004) - F.S. — Georgetown University — B.S. (1997) ### Additional information - She filled the seat vacated by Judge James E. Gritzner, who assumed senior status on March 1, 2015 Before her federal appointment, Ebinger held the role of a state district judge in Iowa's Judicial Election District 5C from 2012 to 2016, appointed by Governor Terry Branstad - Date of birth: 1975-01-01 - Clearwater High School - In her current federal role, she presides over a wide range of cases, including civil rights disputes, administrative challenges, and other federal matters within the Southern District of Iowa Her professional background includes experience as an assistant United States attorney, a law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and work with the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of General Counsel - This extensive legal and judicial experience informs her current responsibilities on the federal bench, where she continues to manage both civil and criminal federal cases - Walsh School of Foreign Service - Birth place: Clearwater, FL ## 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/1394836) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394836) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394836) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8574/rebecca-goodgame-ebinger/) - [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/8574/rebecca-goodgame-ebinger/) - [Wikidata: Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21005713) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-g-ebinger", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/rebecca-g-ebinger", "name": "Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger | KnowJudges", "description": "Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. 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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-civil-procedure.pdf). 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.