Donald Eugene O'Brien
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and confirmed by voice vote, Donald Eugene O'Brien was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. He earned a law degree from Creighton University School of Law in 1948. He previously served on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1923–2015
- Appointed by
- Jimmy Carter, 1978
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Chief judge
- Northern District of Iowa, 1985 to 1992
- Education
- Creighton Law 1948
- Succeeded
- William Cook Hanson
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Southern District of Iowa succeeded William Cook Hanson | Carter (D) | Voice vote |
| 1978 | Northern District of Iowa succeeded William Cook Hanson chief judge 1985 to 1992 | Carter (D) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| Creighton University School of Law | LL.B. | 1948 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| U.S. Army lieutenant, Air Corps | 1942-1945 |
| Private practice, Sioux City, Iowa | 1948-1949, 1967-1978 |
| Assistant city attorney, Sioux City, Iowa | 1949-1953 |
| County attorney, Woodbury County, Iowa | 1955-1958 |
| Judge, Sioux City [Iowa] Municipal Court | 1959-1960 |
| U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Iowa | 1961-1967 |
| Member, Judicial Conference of the United States | 1991-1997 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, O'Brien was assigned 220 district-court cases (1978–1991). Median time from filing to termination: 769 days across 220 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Donald Eugene O'Brien?
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Donald Eugene O'Brien to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in 1978.
- Was Donald Eugene O'Brien appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Donald Eugene O'Brien was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Donald Eugene O'Brien's confirmation vote?
- Donald Eugene O'Brien was confirmed by voice vote on October 4, 1978. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Donald Eugene O'Brien on?
- Donald Eugene O'Brien was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
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12 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).