United States District Court Northern District of Iowa Meet the New Clerk of Court
Jud Watkins
James D. Hodges, our long time Clerk of Court, retired effective Friday, June 25, 2004. Judge Reade and I are pleased to announce that Jud Watkins is our new Clerk. He began with our court on Monday, June 28, 2004. Jud comes to us from the District Court of Hawaii where he was Chief Deputy Clerk of Court. Why, you may ask, would one leave such a beautiful island to come work in Cedar Rapids for the Northern District?? Obviously, because the Northern District of Iowa is the place to be!
Judge Reade and I are thrilled to have Jud on board. He graduated from the Citadel with a B.A. in English, received an M.S. in Administration of Justice at the American University in D.C., and also holds a 2 year Postgraduate Certificate in Management and Organization from the Wharton School of Business.
Jud began his career as a United States Probation Officer. He worked his way up to Chief Probation Officer for the District of Hawaii and served in this position from 1992 to 1997. It was in 1997 that he became Chief Deputy for the District of Hawaii.
Of course, no one person will be able to replace Jim Hodges and all that he has done for the Northern District of Iowa. No other single person in our District's history has done more for this District or had more influence on making the Northern District of Iowa what it is today than Jim Hodges. Each of us owe Jim an unsurpassed debt of gratitude and appreciation for all he has done for our Court and for us, litigants, jurors, and members of the bar. Despite my numerous requests, Jim specifically requested that no recognition or retirement party be held on his behalf. Therefore, with the greatest of reluctance, I agreed to honor his request. Transitions and change are always difficult. The older I get the more apparent it becomes that the only constant in life is that it will change. I hope all of you will take the time to acknowledge Jim for his relentless and unselfish service to our Court and wish him well on the golf course!!!
Also, when you meet Jud please give him a warm Iowa welcome. We are lucky to have him with us and look forward to a challenging and fulfilling future for our District. We are now given an opportunity to build on the rock solid foundation that Jim Hodges dedicated most of his professional life in ensuring for our District. So let's set our goals high -the greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it