Judge Thomas Straka, Peosta, was appointed to serve Dubuque County as a magistrate in 2005, and appointed to the bench as an Associate Juvenile Judge in 2006. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 1991, and his law degree from Creighton University School of Law in 1995. He served as law clerk for the Sarpy County Juvenile Court and was former secretary of the Dubuque County Bar Association and President of the Young Lawyers Division. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Straka practiced primarily in the area of family and criminal law.