Karen Schreier

Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Schreier earned an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Saint Louis University in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from the Saint Louis University School of Law in 1981.[1]

Schreier worked as a judicial law clerk for South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Francis G. Dunn from 1981 until 1982.[1] Schreier worked in private law practice in Sioux Falls from 1982 until 1993. She then became the United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota in 1993. She became the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney in South Dakota and served in that capacity until her appointment to the federal bench in 1999.[1]

On March 8, 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Schreier to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota to replace Richard Battey, who had taken senior status on January 1, 1999.[2] The United States Senate confirmed Schreier on June 30, 1999, as part of a package of nominees it approved in a 94–4 vote.[1][3] Schreier served as Chief Judge from 2006 until 2013.[1]

• List of first women lawyers and judges in South Dakota

• Karen Schreier at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.