--- title: "Ronald Earl Longstaff | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ronald-e-longstaff" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Ronald Earl Longstaff 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: 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, 1991-2006 - Inactive Senior United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa, appointed in 1991 and assuming senior status in 2006 - Ronald Earl Longstaff received his commission as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa on November 5, 1991 - Practiced law in Des Moines (1967–1968), then held the role of Clerk of Court for the Southern District of Iowa (1968–1976) and as the district’s first full‐time U.S. magistrate judge (1968–1991) - Adjunct professor, Drake Law School, 1973-1976 - Law clerk, Hon. Roy L. Stephenson, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa, 1965-1967 - From 1965 to 1967, he was a law clerk to Judge Roy L. Stephenson on the Southern District of Iowa, working on notable cases such as Tinker v - The only judge in the district to preside over a multidistrict litigation involving Teflon products - His earlier career included clerking for Judge Roy L. Stephenson, private practice in Des Moines, service as the district's clerk of court and U.S. magistrate judge, and adjunct teaching at Drake Law School ### Education - University of Iowa College of Law — J.D. (1965) - Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) — B.A. (1962) ### Additional information - Senior Judge: November 5, 2006–present (inactive since 2016) - Chief judge from 2001 to 2006 and assumed senior status on November 5, 2006. - On July 24, 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Longstaff to a new seat on the Southern District of Iowa court, created by 104 Stat. - Private practice, Des Moines, IA, 1967-1968 - Private practice, Des Moines, Iowa, 1967-1968 - Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1941, he earned his undergraduate degree in 1962 and his law degree at the University of Iowa in 1965. - Born February 14, 1941, Pittsburg, Kansas. - Date of birth: 1941-01-01 - Appellate review of his decisions showed a high affirmation rate: 163 of 173 reviewed cases were affirmed - Des Moines Independent Community School District. - Longstaff’s career spanned over 25 years in federal service, combining judicial leadership, substantive legal work, and mentorship. - Birth place: Pittsburg, KS ## 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/1384001) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1384001) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1384001) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1962/ronald-earl-longstaff/) - [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/1962/ronald-earl-longstaff/) - [Judge Ronald Earl Longstaff](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1384001) - [Wikidata: Ronald Earl Longstaff](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7364824) - [www.fjc.gov](https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/longstaff-ronald-earl) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1962/ronald-earl-longstaff/) - [Judge Ronald Earl Longstaff](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1384001) - [Wikidata: Ronald Earl Longstaff](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7364824) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ronald-e-longstaff", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/ronald-e-longstaff", "name": "Ronald Earl Longstaff | KnowJudges", "description": "Ronald Earl Longstaff, 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.