Judge Hanson, West Des Moines, was appointed to the bench in 2003. He was born and raised in Jefferson, Iowa. He received his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1978 and his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1981. He was a law clerk for the late Justice K. David Harris of the Iowa Supreme Court for one year following his graduation from law school, after which he spent 21 years in private practice in Des Moines, Iowa, before his appointment to the bench. Judge Hanson is a member of the American, Iowa State, and Polk County Bar Associations as well as the Iowa Judges Association. He is also a member and past president of the C. Edwin Moore Inn of Court. Judge Hanson is married with two children.