James E. Gritzner

James Edward Gritzner (born November 19, 1947) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Education and career

Gritzner was born on November 19, 1947, in Charles City, Iowa. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech from Dakota Wesleyan University in 1969, and a Master of Arts degree in verbal behavior from the University of Northern Iowa in 1974. He initially planned to be a professional choral director and competed in debate. From 1967 to 1976, Gritzner worked as a radio and television reporter in South Dakota and Iowa. From 1981 to 1982, he worked at Humphrey, Haas and Gritzner, a new law firm in Des Moines, before leaving after a dispute about the propriety of attorney advertising under ethical rules. Gritzner was also particularly noted for his expertise in legal ethics issues and was the primary prosecutor for the Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct of the Iowa State Bar Association and the Client Security and Attorney Disciplinary Commission of the Iowa Supreme Court. In addition to his trial court service, Gritzner regularly sits by designation on the federal courts of appeals.