{"id":122832,"date":"2026-02-06T10:01:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T15:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&p=122832"},"modified":"2026-02-06T14:19:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:19:33","slug":"remembering-judge-pratt","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2026\/remembering-judge-pratt\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering the Honorable Robert W. Pratt"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRemembering the Honorable Robert W. Pratt\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Judge Pratt, who visited BU Law as its first Jurist in Residence in September 2024, served as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa for more than 26 years, leaving an enduring mark on the law, the judiciary, and the many lives he touched.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n
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February 6, 2026<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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The Honorable Robert W. Pratt, a retired United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa and a nationally respected voice on justice and sentencing, passed away on January 28th at the age of 78<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout a distinguished career defined by compassion, intellectual rigor, and moral clarity, Judge Pratt earned a reputation as a jurist deeply committed to fairness, dignity, and the rule of law. He served on the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa for more than 26 years, including five years as Chief Judge. Judge Pratt was nominated to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judge Pratt\u2019s path to the judiciary was grounded in public service and advocacy for those most often left at the margins of the legal system. After earning a bachelor of arts degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and a Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law, he began his legal career at the Polk County Legal Aid Society, now Iowa Legal Aid, where he represented low-income clients in domestic relations, consumer protection, and landlord-tenant matters. These early experiences shaped a lifelong commitment to access to justice and informed his later work on the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1975, Judge Pratt entered private practice, where he continued to represent low-income clients and organized labor while also serving as a court-appointed criminal defense attorney. As his former colleague Art Hedberg once observed, Judge Pratt was \u201cthe only lawyer to have left legal aid and gotten poorer clients,\u201d a reflection of his deeply held values and unwavering conviction. During this period, Judge Pratt tried more than 40 cases to verdict, argued 25 cases before the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and appeared in 20 cases before the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals. In 1985, he opened his own firm, which he led until his appointment to the federal bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At his confirmation hearing, Senator Tom Harkin, a former colleague from the Legal Aid Society, described Judge Pratt as \u201cone of the best public-interest lawyers in the country,\u201d praising his \u201crespect for the rule of law and his faith in our country\u2019s system of justice,\u201d which Harkin said was \u201cinspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a federal judge, Judge Pratt became known for his thoughtful, principled, and often courageous approach to decision-making. He was unafraid of reversal and focused instead on what he believed mattered most: getting the law right. Over the course of his judicial career, he presided over more than 150 cases that went to verdict, ruling on issues that shaped and reinforced fundamental rights and liberties. His interests in information technology, access to justice, and the reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals into society gave his jurisprudence a rare and forward-looking perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Having Judge Robert Pratt as a friend and mentor has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Judge Pratt showed us why having the courage to live our convictions can create the conditions that enable the most vulnerable among us to be treated with greater dignity. He has left all of us who were fortunate enough to know him with a stronger belief in human kindness and hope for the future. His legacy endures not only in his incredible work as a jurist, but primarily in the humanity he opened in all of us.<\/div>