Iowa Supreme Court Names Amy Moore Chief Judge, Second District

The Iowa Supreme Court on December 3 appointed Judge Amy Moore to be chief judge of the Second Judicial District, effective January 1, 2026. She succeeds Chief Judge Gregg Rosenbladt, whose term ended December 31, 2025. Rosenbladt will remain on the bench and serve as assistant chief judge while Moore assumes responsibility for overseeing judicial officers, court employees and the administrative and judicial business of the district.

Moore has served on the district court since 2019. She graduated from Iowa State University and Creighton University School of Law. Her prior experience includes work as a federal trial attorney, time in private practice, and service as a magistrate in Story County. As chief judge she will continue presiding over cases while setting court schedules and managing the district workload.

The Second Judicial District is the largest in Iowa, covering 22 counties. Those counties include Sac, Pocahontas, Calhoun, Carroll, Boone, Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Marshall, Mitchell, Story, Webster, Winnebago, Worth, and Wright. The district operates with 17 district court judges, 12 district associate judges, 5 senior judges and 29 part time magistrates. The courts employ 237 staff members and the district budget for the current fiscal year is about $25.5 million. More than 99,000 cases were initiated in the district in 2024, reflecting a heavy caseload that the new chief judge will help manage.

For residents of Buena Vista County the change is notable even though Buena Vista is not one of the 22 counties in the Second Judicial District. Local court administration in Buena Vista will continue to be managed by that county's judicial district leadership. Still, Moore's appointment matters to Buena Vista and neighboring counties because practices in a large district can influence statewide administrative approaches, court scheduling norms and efforts to move cases efficiently through the system. Observers and attorneys should watch for any policy or scheduling changes Moore implements after January 1 that could inform broader court administration across Iowa.