Judge Linda Reade

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa

Linda Reade is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. She was nominated to the court in 2002 by President George W. Bush. Reade served as chief judge of the district court from 2006 to 2017.

Reade was born in Sioux Falls, S.D. She received an undergraduate degree in biology from Drake University in 1970 and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Iowa State University in 1973. She graduated from Drake Law School with honors and Order of the Coif in 1980.

From 1980 to 1986, Reade worked in private practice handling civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts. She then served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa and later as chief of the criminal division of that office. In 1993, Reade was appointed as a judge of the Iowa District Court and served in that court until her appointment to the federal bench.