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Judge Tott Named Chief Judge of Third Judicial District

July 1, 2021

Chief Justice Susan Christensen has appointed District Judge Patrick H. Tott, Sioux City, as chief judge of the Third Judicial District. Judge Tott succeeds Chief Judge Duane E. Hoffmeyer who will retire August 5, 2021. Judge Tott will begin the position of chief judge August 6, 2021.

"Judge Tott brings wide-ranging experience and the respect of his fellow judges to the important position of chief judge,” Chief Justice Christensen said. “He has served his community and this state for many years in juvenile court, magistrate court, and as a district court judge. He also served as a tribal court judge for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. He is an impartial and fair jurist and I am confident he will be an excellent chief judge.”

Judge Tott was appointed to the bench in September 2014. He graduated Cum Laude from Creighton University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in 1989 and Magna Cum Laude from Creighton Law School in 1991. Judge Tott served as a part-time Associate Juvenile Judge from 1994 to 2001 and as a part-time magistrate for Woodbury County from 1999 until his appointment to the District Court in September 2014. Immediately prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Tott was a member of the firm of Buckmeier & Daane Lawyers P.C. in Sioux City. He is married with seven children.

“I am honored and humbled to have been chosen as the new Chief Judge for the Third Judicial District," Judge Tott said. “Chief Judge Hoffmeyer has served the District well for the past 13 years and has set a high standard I hope to be able to duplicate for the citizens of the Third Judicial District. I am fortunate that the Third Judicial District has many fine Judges, clerks, and administrators that I look forward to working with to ensure the fair administration of justice to all Iowans that will appear before our courts.  I thank Chief Justice Christensen and the Justices of the Supreme Court for the confidence they have shown in me by making this appointment.”

As chief judge, Judge Tott 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 Third Judicial District is located in northwest Iowa and is comprised of 16 counties:  Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Ida, Lyon, Kossuth, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Sioux, and Woodbury. The district has 13 district court judges, eight district associate court judges, one associate juvenile court judge, 14 part-time magistrates, and 178 employees, with an operating budget for the current fiscal year of approximately $18 million. A total of more than 73,000 cases were filed in the Third District in 2020.

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