Stephanie Marie Rose (née King; born December 17, 1972)[1] is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. She is the first female judge to serve in the Southern District.[2]

Stephanie M. Rose
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
Assumed office
February 10, 2022
Preceded byJohn Alfred Jarvey
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
Assumed office
September 17, 2012
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byRobert W. Pratt
United States Attorney of the Northern District of Iowa
In office
November 24, 2009 – September 17, 2012
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byCharles Larson
Succeeded byKevin W. Techau
Personal details
Born
Stephanie Marie King

(1972-12-17) December 17, 1972 (age 51)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Iowa (BA, JD)

Early life and education edit

Rose was born Stephanie Marie King in Topeka, Kansas in 1972.[3] She graduated from Mason City High School in Mason City, Iowa.[4] She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and sociology in 1994 from the University of Iowa with highest distinction.[5] She received her Juris Doctor in 1996 from the University of Iowa College of Law with high distinction and was a member of the Order of the Coif. During law school, she worked at Bradley & Riley, a law firm in Cedar Rapids. She also worked as a journalist for newspapers in Mason City, Iowa City, and Webster City from 1989 to 1994, including a stint as a dirt track racing correspondent.[4]

Career edit

Rose served over 12 years as an Assistant United States Attorney. She was Deputy Criminal Chief from 2008 to 2009. During her tenure she has investigated and prosecuted over 800 federal criminal cases, including leading a major internet pharmacy prosecution coordinated with 48 other offices. She has also done pro bono work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused and neglected children. She also volunteered her services to represent domestic violence victims. From 2009 to 2012, Rose served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa.[6][7] She tried 33 criminal cases.[4] She led a major multi-jurisdictional pharmaceutical fraud case involving 49 U.S. Attorneys' offices and 36 law enforcement agencies; the case resulted in convictions in the Northern District for 26 defendants.[5]

Rose's work in the U.S. attorney's office has involved some controversy surrounding the Postville Raid and the conviction and sentence of Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse chief Sholom Rubashkin of Postville, Iowa on 86 financial fraud-related federal charges and his subsequent 27-year sentence in federal prison.[8] Prosecutors, led by Rose, initially had sought a life sentence for Rubashkin, but later agreed to seek 25 years after the life sentence request was criticized by former Justice Department officials including six former Attorneys General.[9][10][11]

Federal judicial service edit

On February 2, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Rose to be United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.[6] She replaced Judge Robert W. Pratt, who assumed senior status on July 1, 2012, and was recommended for the position by Tom Harkin.[12][5] The American Bar Association rated her unanimously well-qualified.[13] Rose received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 14, 2012 and her nomination was reported to the floor on April 19, 2012, by voice vote, with Senator Mike Lee recorded as voting no. On September 10, 2012, the Senate confirmed her nomination by a 89–1 vote, Senator DeMint casting the sole no vote.[14] She received her commission on September 17, 2012.[7]

At the time of her confirmation, Rose was the youngest Article III federal judge in the country.[5] She oversaw the case of Mo Hailong, who was convicted of economic espionage against Pioneer Hi Bred International and Monsanto after extensive pretrial litigation.[5] Rose became Chief Judge on February 10, 2022.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Neil, Shasha (June 7, 2022). "8 Youngest Federal Judges in the US History". Oldest.org. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Making History: President Obama’s Female Judicial Nominees, Alliance for Justice (June 11, 2013).
  3. ^ Transcript of Senate Questionnaire for her consideration for the office of U.S. Attorney. Scribd.com. Retrieved on September 26, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 26, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e Rogers, Aaron; Callahan, Margaret (2018). No One is Above the Law: The Story of Southern Iowa's Federal Court. Des Moines, IA: Lexicon Content Marketing. pp. 199–210.
  6. ^ a b Nomination announcement from whitehouse.gov for February 2, 2012. Whitehouse.gov (February 2, 2012). Retrieved on September 26, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Stephanie M. Rose at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  8. ^ U.S. Attorney issues Rubashkin statement | Des Moines Register Staff Blogs. Blogs.desmoinesregister.com (June 22, 2010). Retrieved on September 26, 2013.
  9. ^ Maimon, Debbie (February 17, 2012) Postville’s Wounds Re-opened. theyeshivaworld.com
  10. ^ Preston, Julia (April 28, 2010) Life Sentence Is Debated for Meat Plant Ex-Chief. New York Times
  11. ^ Feds Back Off From Life Sentence for Slaughterhouse Fraud Case. Law.com (May 3, 2010). Retrieved on September 26, 2013.
  12. ^ "Pratt, Robert W. – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  13. ^ "Stephanie Rose". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  14. ^ On the Nomination (Confirmation Stephanie Marie Rose, of Iowa, to be U.S. District Judge). Senate.gov. Retrieved on September 26, 2013.

External links edit

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
2012–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
2022–present