--- title: "Stephen Henley Locher | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-h-locher" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-08-03" --- # Stephen Henley Locher 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 - American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa since July 18, 2022 - U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of Iowa (June 1, 2021 – July 18, 2022) - Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Iowa, 2008-2013 - Law clerk, Hon. John R. Gibson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2003-2004 - Official site: U.S. Courts – Judge Stephen H. Locher Southern District of Iowa ### Education - Harvard Law School — J.D. (2003) - University of Notre Dame — B.A. (2000) ### Additional information - Nominated by President Joe Biden on April 25, 2022, to replace Judge John Alfred Jarvey - Private practice, Des Moines, Iowa, 2013-2021 - Private practice, Chicago, Illinois, 2004-2008 - Date of birth: 1978 - Birth place: Mason City ## 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/12261091) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12261091) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12261091) - [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) - [Judge Stephen Henley Locher](https://www.fjc.gov/node/12261091) - [Wikidata: Stephen H. Locher](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111595834) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-h-locher", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-h-locher", "name": "Stephen Henley Locher | KnowJudges", "description": "Stephen Henley Locher, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-08-03", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-h-locher#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-h-locher#judge", "name": "Stephen Henley Locher", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-h-locher", "jobTitle": "Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/12261091" ], "birthDate": "1978", "birthPlace": "Mason City", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of Notre Dame" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Harvard Law School" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Iowa", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/iowa" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Henley Locher", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-h-locher" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 242 | 20 | 1.6 | 20 | | 2y | 425 | 92 | 1.9 | 92 | | 5y | 766 | 400 | 4.2 | 400 | | 10y | 766 | 400 | 4.2 | 400 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. 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.