Susan Larson Christensen (born April 27, 1962) is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

since 2018 and as the chief justice since 2020.

Education

Christensen received an undergraduate degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from Judson University, where she was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

and graduated with highest honors. She then received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree cum laude from Creighton University School of Law.

Career

Christensen practiced law in

Harlan, Iowa Harlan is a city and the county seat of Shelby County, Iowa, along the Nishnabotna River, West Nishnabotna River. The population was 4,893 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Harlan was platted in 1858. It was nam ...

at the firm Larson, Childs, Hall & Christensen from 1991 to 2003, specializing in

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

. She then worked as a

sole practitioner A sole practitioner or solo practitioner is a professional, such as a lawyer or an architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connecti ...

specializing in family law from 2003 to 2007. She was also a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

, working as an assistant county attorney for Shelby County from 1991 to 2007, for Harrison County from 1996 to 2007, and for

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

in 2007.

State court service

Christensen was an associate judge for the Iowa Fourth Judicial District from 2007 to 2015 then a district judge for the same district from 2015 until her appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Appointment to Iowa Supreme Court

Christensen was one of three finalists sent to the governor for consideration after the retirement of Justice Bruce B. Zager. In August 2018 Governor

Kim Reynolds Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn, August 4, 1959) is an American politician from Iowa. A Republican, Reynolds has served since 2017 as the 43rd governor of Iowa. She is the first female governor in Iowa history. Reynolds was elected Clarke ...

appointed Christensen to the Iowa Supreme Court. On September 21, 2018, she was sworn into office. Christensen is Reynolds' first appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court. She became the first female since 2011 and the third female overall to join the court. On February 24, 2020, she was selected to be the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, following the death of Mark Cady.

Personal life

Christensen was born and raised in Harlan, Iowa where her husband Jay serves as mayor. Her father was former justice Jerry L. Larson who served on the Iowa Supreme Court from 1978 to 2008. Her brother Jeffrey Larson is a judge of the Iowa Fourth Judicial District. She is a registered Republican.

References

External links

*
Iowa Supreme Court profile
, - 1962 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Chief justices of the Iowa Supreme Court Creighton University School of Law alumni Iowa Republicans Iowa state court judges Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court Judson University alumni Living people People from Harlan, Iowa Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States {{Iowa-state-judge-stub