News Release
December 6,
2012
Contact: Steve
Davis, Court Communications Officer, (515)725-8058
Judge Brown Named Chief Judge of
Eighth Judicial District
Des
Moines, December 6, 2012—
The Iowa Supreme Court has
appointed District Judge Mary Ann Brown, Burlington, as Chief Judge of the
Eighth Judicial District. Judge Brown succeeds Chief Judge James Q. Blomgren who will retire December 6, 2012.
"Judge
Brown is an excellent judge with experience as an attorney and on the
bench," Chief Justice Mark Cady said. "The supreme court is confident
she has the skills needed to be a fine chief judge and a strong leader in the
Eighth Judicial District."
Judge Brown
was appointed district judge in September 2001. She received her bachelor's
degree from Drake University in 1981 and her law degree from the Drake
University School of Law in 1984. Judge Brown worked as a prosecutor for the
Des Moines County Attorney's Office from 1985 to 1990. She was in private
practice with Bauer, Schulte, Hahn, Swanson & Brown from 1990 to 2001.
Judge Brown is a member of the Iowa Judicial Qualifications Commission, The
Eighth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services Board of
Directors, the Iowa Judges Association, the Iowa State Bar Association, the Des
Moines County Bar Association, and served as past chair of the Iowa Board of
Examiners of Shorthand Reporters. She is also a member of the Girl Scouts of
Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois Board of Directors and, in 2000, she received a
Bar Association Community Service award.
"I am
honored and humbled to have been selected a Chief Judge for the Eighth Judicial
District," Judge Brown said. "As Iowans we can all be proud of the outstanding
court system in this state. It will be a privilege to have this opportunity to
work with all the outstanding, hardworking judges and other court staff in this
judicial district. Working together we will successfully meet the ever changing
challenges to efficiently and effectively serve the legal needs of our
citizens."
As chief judge,
Judge Brown 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, she will
continue to preside over cases.
The Eighth
Judicial District is located in southeast Iowa and comprises 14 counties: Appanoose,
Davis, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee (with two county seats—Fort
Madison and Keokuk), Louisa, Mahaska, Monroe, Poweshiek, Van Buren, Wapello,
and Washington. The district has 11 district judges, seven district associate
judges, one associate juvenile judge, four senior judges, 13 part-time
magistrates, and 156 employees, with an operating budget for the current fiscal
year of approximately $14.2 million. A total of 73,056 cases were filed in the
Eighth Judicial District last year.
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2012
Iowa
Supreme Court
1111
East Court Avenue
Des
Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952
