Joel W. Barrows

Joel Barrows is an Iowa district court judge who regularly oversees both criminal and civil trials. Prior to his appointment to the bench he was a practicing attorney for nearly twenty-three years; the last eighteen of those spent as a state, and then federal, prosecutor.

As an attorney, Joel regularly argued before the United States Court of Appeals. His cases have been as diverse as white collar crime, environmental crime, cyber-crime, child exploitation, narcotics and firearms offenses, immigration crimes, bank robbery, health care fraud, public corruption, civil rights offenses and threats against the President, and have included many high profile prosecutions.

He holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in History, a Law degree from Drake University Law School, and a Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center.

He has traveled extensively in Central America. He lives with his family in eastern Iowa along the banks of the Mississippi.

(The views expressed in his novels are those of Joel W. Barrows alone and do not reflect those of the Iowa Judicial Branch.)