Robert William Pratt (May 3, 1947 – January 28, 2026) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
Robert W. Pratt
Chief Judge — U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
Born 1947 in Emmetsburg, IA
Died 2026 in Clive, IA
FJC ID: 2744
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 21/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 45/year
Iowa Southern District Court · 1997–2026
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Des Moines, Iowa1975–1997
- Polk County [Iowa] Legal Aid SocietyStaff attorney · 1973–1974
Appointments
1997–2026 · Appointed by William J. Clinton (Democratic)Term ended: Death
Education
J.D. · 1972- Loras CollegeB.A. · 1969
- Iowa Lakes Community CollegeA.A. · 1967