Longtime Iowa federal judge dies at 78 after more than 26 years on the bench

Robert Pratt, a federal judge in Iowa who served more than two decades on the bench, died Wednesday after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 78.

His son, Michael Pratt, told The New York Times that his father died of a heart attack while at a gym.

Pratt was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa by former President Bill Clinton in 1997 and went on to serve more than 26 years on the federal court.

The Iowa State Bar Association said he retired in 2023, having presided over cases including a sentencing decision that was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gall v. United States.

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An obituary for Pratt, who was born May 3, 1947, described him as a man who "championed the underdog and the uncelebrated" throughout his career in public service. 

In 2009, he helped launch an annual Fourth of July naturalization ceremony held alongside Iowa Cubs baseball games and later presided over dozens of ceremonies welcoming new U.S. citizens.

Pratt previously drew scrutiny after publicly criticizing President Donald Trump over a series of pardons in 2020, comments he later acknowledged were inappropriate for a federal judge.

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During a phone interview with The Associated Press, Pratt took aim at Trump's pardons of John Tate and Jesse Benton, two former top aides to Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign.

"It's not surprising that a criminal like Trump pardons other criminals," he said. "But apparently to get a pardon, one has to be either a Republican, a convicted child murderer or a turkey."

The Associated Press reported that the remarks led to a judicial misconduct complaint by Lavenski Smith, who was serving as chief judge of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals at the time.

In an April 16, 2021, letter to Smith, Pratt apologized for the remarks and said he accepted the conclusion they could be construed as "inappropriate partisan statements."

"I acknowledge the wrongfulness of the comments, and I regret the embarrassment they have caused to my court and the judiciary in general. I am truly sorry for the remarks and apologize for having made them," Pratt wrote. "I also want to reaffirm my commitment to the impartial administration of justice in full compliance with the Code of Conduct for United States Judges."

He is survived by his wife, Rose Mary, three children, a stepdaughter and seven grandchildren.