Iowan C.J. Williams Nominated for Federal Judgeship

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Joni Ernst, today released the following joint statement regarding the nomination of C.J. Williams to serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa based in Cedar Rapids. Williams was one of four Iowa lawyers recommended by Grassley and Ernst following a process they established that invited all Iowa lawyers to submit their names for consideration for a recommendation and where all applicants were interviewed and considered by an independent review panel convened by the senators. 

“Judge Williams is highly qualified to serve in this lifetime appointment,” Grassley and Ernst said. “Judge Williams’ experience, commitment to the law as written and impartiality to those who have come before him will make him an excellent addition to the court. We look forward to his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and are eager to introduce him to our colleagues.”

If confirmed, Williams would fill the federal judgeship that was left vacant when Judge Linda R. Reade, of Cedar Rapids, took senior status last fall. The nomination will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs.

Nationwide, there are 94 district courts in the federal court system. In Iowa, there are two districts housing a total of five district court judges. Federal judges are nominated by the President, confirmed “with the advice and consent” of the U.S. Senate, and serve lifetime appointments.

Williams is a U.S. magistrate judge in the Northern District of Iowa, presiding over all pretrial matters in criminal and civil cases, along with presiding over the trials by agreement of the parties. Previously, he was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, serving as the Senior Litigation Counsel. He also was a trial attorney for Lathrop & Gage L.C. in Kansas City, Missouri, and for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Williams received his J.D. from the University of Iowa’s College of Law with High Distinction and his L.L.M. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s School of Law and is a graduate of the University of Iowa.

Please find more information from the White House on the nomination of Williams here.