News Release
July 7, 2010
Contact: Steve
Davis, Court Communications Officer, (515)725-8058
Bower
Named Chief Judge of First Judicial District
Des
Moines, July 7, 2010—Chief Justice Marsha Ternus has appointed District Judge Thomas
N. Bower, Cedar Falls, as chief judge of the First Judicial District. Judge
Bower succeeds Judge Jon C. Fister who will retire August 5, 2010.
"Judge
Bower is well qualified to serve as chief judge," Chief Justice Ternus
said. "Throughout his career he has been interested in making the court
system work better as evidenced by his involvement with committees working in
the areas of family law, drug court and domestic abuse issues."
Judge
Bower received a bachelor's degree from Illinois State University in 1984 and a
law degree from Drake University in 1987. Judge Bower was appointed to the
district associate court bench in 1993 and the district court bench in 1995.
Prior to his appointment, he served as an Assistant City Attorney for the city
of Ames and the Assistant Black Hawk County Attorney.
Judge
Bower serves on the Supreme Court Committee to Review Child Support Guidelines
and the Supreme Court Task Force on Domestic Abuse. He is a member of the Black
Hawk County Bar Association, the Iowa Judges Association, and serves as Black
Hawk County administrative judge.
As
chief judge, Judge Bower will supervise all judicial officers and court
employees in the district, supervise the performance of administrative and
judicial business in the district, set the times and places of holding court,
designate presiding judges, and serve on the judicial council, which advises
the supreme court on administrative matters affecting the trial courts. In
addition, he will continue to preside over cases.
The
First Judicial District is located in northeast Iowa and is comprised of 11
counties: Allamakee, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware,
Dubuque, Fayette, Grundy, Howard, and Winneshiek. The district has 14 district
judges, six district associate judges, three associate juvenile judges, three
senior judges, 20 part-time magistrates, and 194 employees, with an operating
budget for the current fiscal year of approximately $16,386,490. A total of
104,403 cases were filed in the First District last year.
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2010
Iowa
Supreme Court
1111
East Court Avenue
Des
Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952
