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Revision as of 05:16, 4 June 2021 by Winchester2313 (talk | contribs) (Undid revision 1026766034 by Iowalaw2 (talk) Restore highly relevant and well sourced information as per talk page.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) American judge| Linda Rae Reade | |
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| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 1, 2017 | |
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa | |
| In office January 1, 2007 – February 11, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Mark W. Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Leonard Terry Strand |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa | |
| In office November 26, 2002 – October 1, 2017 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Michael Joseph Melloy |
| Succeeded by | C. J. Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-02-01) February 1, 1948 (age 76) Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| Education | Drake University (BA) Iowa State University (MS) Drake University Law School (JD) |
Linda Rae Reade (born February 1, 1948) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
Early life and education
Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Reade graduated from Drake University with her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970, Iowa State University with a Master of Science degree in 1973, and Drake University Law School with a Juris Doctor with honors and Order of the Coif in 1980. During law school, Reade worked at two firms in Des Moines, Rosenberg & Marguiles and Brown, Winick, Graves, Donnelly, & Baskerville, and campaigned for Lawrence Pope. She also published a case note in the Drake Law Review.
Legal and state judicial career
After graduation, Reade was in private practice as an attorney in Des Moines at Brown, Winick from 1980 to 1981, at Rosenberg & Marguiles from 1981 to 1984, and at Rosenberg, Rosenberg, & Reade from 1984 to 1986. She also served as president of the Des Moines League of Women Voters from 1985 to 1987.
Reade was an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa from 1986 to 1993, serving as Chief of the General Criminal Prosecutions Division from 1990 to 1993.
Reade was appointed to serve on the Iowa District Court in Des Moines in 1993 and continued until her appointment to the federal bench in 2002. During that time, she served on many committees for the Iowa Supreme Court, the Iowa Judges' Association, and the Iowa State Bar Association. While she served on the District Court, 18 of her cases were reversed.
Federal judicial career
On Senator Chuck Grassley's recommendation, President George W. Bush nominated Reade to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on June 26, 2002, to a seat vacated by Michael Joseph Melloy. The Senate confirmed her on November 14, 2002, and she received her commission on November 26. She became Chief Judge on January 1, 2007. Her term as Chief Judge ended on February 11, 2017. She assumed senior status on October 1, 2017.
Notable cases
Rubashkin case
Main article: Sholom RubashkinReade presided over the trial and sentencing of kosher slaughterhouse operator Sholom Rubashkin. The case and Reade's 27-year sentence garnered the attention of many prominent politicians and received widespread media coverage. Following Rubashkins conviction, records were obtained which showed that Reade had been meeting secretly with prosecutors for ten months before the raid on Rubashkin's plant. Reade maintained that the meetings were only to prepare the courts for a case of such large magnitude. While the 8th Circuit of Appeals upheld the ruling, Reade was scheduled to sit with two of the appellate judges (over other cases) on the same day just before those same judges were scheduled to hear the Rubashkin appeal. This conduct during the appeal raised subsequent questions.
Forty-five members of Congress wrote to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder questioning Reade's handling of the case. Reade's husband, Michael Figenshaw owned stock at the time in two of the largest private prison corporations in the United States, and purchased more stock in both companies just five days before a large raid on the kosher operator began. Ethics experts say these investments were inappropriate and may have violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges.
On December 20, 2017, after serving eight years of his 27-year sentence, U.S. President Donald Trump commuted Rubashkin's sentence. A statement from the Trump White House noted that " bipartisan group of more than 100 former high-ranking and distinguished Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, prosecutors, judges, and legal scholars expressed concerns about the evidentiary proceedings in Mr. Rubashkin’s case and the severity of his sentence," and further noted that more than 30 Members of Congress had written letters expressing support for a review of Rubashkin's case. President Trump cited the bipartisan letter he received months prior, signed by numerous Justice officials and members of United States Congress. The officials stated that they were "deeply troubled" by the injustice in this case and the harm it has caused to public confidence in the fairness of our Federal courts. The letter attached copies of previous letters from both Democratic and Republican members of Congress to Attorney General Eric Holder citing Judge Reade for that inappropriate behavior.
Aossey case
Reade presided over the case of William Aossey, the founder of Midamar Corporation and Islamic Services of America, who was convicted of fraud for falsifying labels on beef exported to Malaysia and Indonesia. Aossey was found guilty and Reade departed from federal guidelines, sentencing Aossey to two years.
Dierks case
On June 13, 2018, Reade sentenced Joseph Dierks to six years in prison for threatening to kill Senator Joni Ernst on Twitter. The sentence, which exceeded federal sentencing guidelines, was imposed on Dierks for disparaging comments he made regarding Reade, the prosecutor, the prosecutor's children, and black corrections officers.
See also
References
- ^ 107-1 Hearings: Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments, S. Hrg. 107-584, Part 5, August 1, 2002, Etc. Government Printing Office. 2003.
- 27 Drake L. Rev. 736 (1978).
- "Reade, Linda R." Federal Judicial Center.
- Preston, Julia (21 June 2010). "27-Year Sentence for Plant Manager" – via NYTimes.com.
- Rodgers, Grant (May 11, 2016). "New Rubashkin claims garner Who's Who list of supporters". The Des Moines Register.
- ^ Bennett L. Gershman and Joel Cohen (June 13, 2011). "When a Judge Stumbles, Do "Appearances" Matter?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-04-19.
- "A question of law and prison investments - San Quentin News". 31 October 2017.
- "Judge Put Immigrants In Jail While Husband Invested In Private Prisons". Carbonated.TV.
- "A federal judge put hundreds of immigrants behind bars while her husband invested in private prisons".
- Line, Chabad On. "Judge Reade Can't Hide Her Hate". collive.
- "Des Moines, IA - Independent Investigation: Husband Of Rubashkin Judge Bought Prison Stocks Days Before Agriprocessors Raid". www.vosizneias.com.
- http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "Sholom Rubashkin bank fraud prison sentence commuted by Trump". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
{{cite news}}: External link in|last= - "President Trump Commutes Sentence of Sholom Rubashkin | The White House". The White House. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
- "Combined Letter" (PDF).
- "Why Trump Commuted the Sentence of a Kosher Meatpacking Executive".
- "Halal foods pioneer gets 2-year term for fraud".
- Mehaffey, Trish. "Midamar founder Aossey sentenced to two years in prison, $60,000 fine - The Gazette".
- "Threats to Joni Ernst lead to prison Waterloo man receives 6 years for tweets about U.S. senator". The Gazette. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
Sources
- Linda R. Reade at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Judge Linda R. Reade at The Robing Room, A judge ranking website. https://web.archive.org/web/20101225030406/http://therobingroom.com/Judge.aspx?ID=1793
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byMichael Joseph Melloy | Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa 2002–2017 |
Succeeded byC. J. Williams |
| Preceded byMark W. Bennett | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa 2007–2017 |
Succeeded byLeonard Terry Strand |
| Senior district judges of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals | |
|---|---|
| E. Arkansas | |
| W. Arkansas | |
| N. Iowa | |
| S. Iowa | |
| Minnesota | |
| E. Missouri | |
| W. Missouri | |
| Nebraska | |
| North Dakota | |
| South Dakota | |
- 1948 births
- Living people
- American women judges
- Assistant United States Attorneys
- Drake University alumni
- Iowa state court judges
- Iowa State University alumni
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
- Politicians from Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush
- 21st-century American judges
- 21st-century women judges
- 21st-century American women