Theodore G. Garfield

Theodore G. Garfield (November 12, 1894 – November 4, 1989) served as a justice on the Iowa Supreme Court longer than all but one other justice. A member of the Court from January 1, 1941 until his retirement on November 11, 1969, he served as Iowa's Chief Justice in rotation for four years, and then on a continuing basis from 1961 to 1969.

Born in Humboldt, Iowa to George S. and Mary (White) Garfield, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1915 and his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1917. Immediately thereafter, he volunteered for military service in the United States Army, He was on a tour of duty as a lieutenant teaching artillery fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, at the time the armistice ended World War I in 1918. He entered the private practice of law at Ames, Iowa, as the junior partner of Lee & Garfield.

In 1926, he was elected as a Republican as a trial-court judge for Iowa's Eleventh Judicial District. He served in this position from January 1927 until his elevation to the Supreme Court. After mandatory retirement from the court, he returned to the practice of law at Ames. Soon after his retirement, he agreed to serve as a hearing officer for University of Iowa students and groups subjected to discipline as part of antiwar activities.

Until very recently, Garfield was the longest-serving justice in the history of the Iowa Supreme Court. His 28-year-tenure was exceeded in 2006 by Justice Jerry Larson, who retired soon thereafter.