Donald E. O Brien

An excellent judge who is a credit to the legal system. Very fair and thorough. We need more like him.

An excellent judge. Highly knowledgeable and very fair. Iowa needs more like him.

Probably leans towards a criminal defendant and civil plaintiff, but seems to really try to be fair and is very concerned about being so. Can take a while on rulings.

This judge's law clerks need to slip him some NoDoze. Extremely slow and indecisive but also very, very fair. He doesn't put up with the nonsense the AUSAs tend to spout in court. Always tries to do the right thing.

He has a huge heart.

Hard working and very kind. Not the sharpest pencil in the box, but he is very, very fair. Quite slow on rulings.

Very slow in getting opinions out. Very difficult to get summary judgment granted even when it is obvious it should be - seems to have the philosophy that by denying S.J. the defendant willpay something.

Be sure and give him some Nodoze before trial or a long hearing. Has a heart the size of China and never let's brutal circuit law get in the way of justice. This is a judge who sleeps well at night knowing he has dispensed great justice. The heartless circuit judges could learn a lot from him.

This judge is very even-tempered and courteous; has appearance of curmudgeon, but is extremely fair with litigators. Main criticism is punctuality of opinions, particularly summary judgment opinions. It's always wise to prepare for trial when he's sitting on a summary judgment ruling. However, going back to temperament, he's the polar opposite of his successor, who is self-centered and prone to throw things at attorneys or scream nonsensically at the slightest provocation. This judge wants every one to have their day in court. He does not use -- as his successor does -- summary judgment as docket control.