Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Stevens received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1949 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1952. He was a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve from 1952 to 1960. He was on active duty from 1952 to 1955. He was in private practice in Kansas City, Missouri from 1955 to 1980.^[1]

Stevens was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 9, 1981, to a joint seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri vacated by Judge William Robert Collinson. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 16, 1981, and received his commission on September 18, 1981. He served as Chief Judge of the Western District only from 1992 to 1995. He assumed senior status on July 1, 1995. Stevens served in that capacity until his death in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 18, 1998.^[1]

• Joseph Edward Stevens Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.