James Burton Loken (born May 21, 1940) is an American lawyer serving since 1990 as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Loken earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1962 and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1965.

Loken returned to private practice in Minneapolis from 1973 to 1990 at the white shoe law firm of Faegre & Benson.

[2] On September 10, 1990, President George H. W. Bush nominated Loken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit seat vacated by Gerald William Heaney.

Loken served as chief judge of the court from April 1, 2003, to March 31, 2010, when he was succeeded by William J. Riley.