Iowa Supreme Court

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Iowa Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:	7
Founded:	1846
Judicial selection
Method:	Comm. select., Gov. appt.
Term:	8 years
Active justices
Mark Cady  •  David Wiggins  •  Daryl Hecht  •  Brent Appel  •  Edward Mansfield  •  Bruce B. Zager  •  Thomas Waterman  •
Former justices

The Iowa Supreme Court is the constitutional head of the judicial branch of the state of Iowa. Justices are appointed by the governor from a list of nominees submitted by the State Judicial Nominating Commission. A justice serves an initial term of office that is one year after appointment and until January 1 following the next judicial retention election after expiration of such year. The regular term of office of justices retained at election is eight years. A justice must retire upon reaching the age of 72. The justices elect the chief justice.

Justices

The current justices of the court are:

Judge	Term	Appointed by	Party
Chief Justice Mark Cady	1998-2016	Gov. Terry E. Branstad
Justice David Wiggins	2003-2020	Gov. Tom Vilsack
Justice Daryl Hecht	2006-2016	Gov. Tom Vilaack
Justice Brent Appel	2006-2016	Gov. Tom Vilsack
Justice Edward Mansfield	2011-2020	Gov. Terry E. Branstad
Justice Bruce B. Zager	2011-2020	Gov. Terry E. Branstad
Justice Thomas Waterman	2011-2020	Gov. Terry E. Branstad

Jurisdiction

In the Iowa Supreme Court, there is mandatory jurisdiction in civil, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile, disciplinary, certified questions from Federal courts and original proceeding cases.

Judicial selection

In 1962, a constitutional amendment was presented to constituents of Iowa on merit selection, which the people did pass. This amendment applies to all appellate and district court justices. Judicial nominees are selected by nominating commissions, which the governor of the state then makes the appointment. One year after the appointment, the justice must stand for a retention vote. A mandatory judicial retirement age was set at 72 for judges appointed after July 1, 1965.

Qualifications

"In general, nominees for any judgeship except for judicial magistrates must be lawyers admitted to practice law in Iowa. Also, a nominee must be a resident of the state, district, or county to which they are nominated and must be of an age such that they can serve a full term of office before reaching age 72. Although the merit selection system governs the selection of all judges and magistrates, specific procedures vary somewhat depending on the type of judgeship."

Removal of justices

"Iowa judges may be removed in one of two ways:

• Judges may be impeached by a majority of the house of representatives and convicted by two thirds of the senate.
• The Iowa Judicial Qualifications Commission has the authority to investigate complaints of judicial misconduct and recommend to the supreme court that it retire, discipline, or remove a judge."

Salaries

The Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court earns $170,850 annually, while associate justices earn $163,200, as of January 2010.

Notable decisions

Farmer liable for guest's injury during educational tour February 15, 2013 According to a ruling issued on February 15 by the Iowa Supreme Court, farmers who choose to host educational tours for members of the public are not shielded from liability by a 1967 state law intended to promote recreation on private lands. In 2010, Kimberly Sallee filed a negligence suit against dairy farmers Matthew and Diana Stewart. Sallee had served as a chaperone on her daughter's kindergarten class trip to the Stewarts' farm, and broke her wrist and her leg when she fell through a hole in the floor of a hayloft where the Stewarts were letting the children play. The hole had been covered by hay bales, which Matthew Stewart had tested before the children arrived, but the bale over the drop gave way when Sallee stood on it. Sallee's case was originally dismissed by a district court judge, who found that the Stewarts were immune from liability under a 1967 law barring suits against landowners who allow the public onto their property for "recreational uses" like hunting, hiking, or snowmobiling. This holding was reversed by the Iowa Court of Appeals, which agreed that the Stewarts were shielded from liability as landowners by the 1967 law, but found that they could still be sued in their capacity as tour guides, provided it could be proven that they had acted improperly in that capacity. In the Supreme Court's 5-2 holding, Justice Brent Appel agreed that Iowa's 1967 law is intended to promote outdoor activities, and wrote that horseback riding and "nature study," which the students engaged in at the Stewarts' farm, may have been covered by the law. However, he wrote that, “ "it is difficult to characterize frolicking in a hayloft as part of a guided tour of an improved barn on a dairy farm as nature study within the meaning of the statute...The district court erred to the extent it held that Sallee was engaged in nature study at the time of her injury." ” In dissent, Justice Edward Mansfield wrote that the law was designed from its inception to encourage farmers to offer access to and recreational use of their lands. He wrote that the court's decision "turns [the] law upside down." Sharing Justice Mansfield's concern is the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, which believes that exposing farmers to liability in cases like this may jeopardize educational tours during which the public has the opportunity to learn about farming and agriculture.

First Iowa Supreme Court decision

• In Re the Matter of Ralph, July 1839

In the Iowa Supreme Court's first decision, they found that a slave residing in the 'free territory' of Iowa could not be returned to to their slave owner across state lines (in Missouri) even if they had not paid the agreed upon amount to secure their freedom in the negotiated time. This ruling came long before the Dred Scott v. Sandford case (1857), which found in favor of the slave holder, and not the slave.

Question of gay marriage before the court

• Varnum v. Brien

In early December 2008, an attorney for a half dozen gay couples challenging Iowa’s same-sex marriage ban argued before the state supreme court that the law violates his clients’ constitutional rights. This case has been in the legal system for more than three years, and it could take a year or more for the Iowa Supreme Court to issue a ruling after hearing oral arguments.

On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously to overturn the State's ban on gay marriage (strikes the language from Iowa Code section 595.2) as Iowa became the first state in the Midwest in its ruling to fully recognize gay marriage. The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman, saying it violates the constitutional rights of equal protection. The ruling upholds a August 30, 2007 ruling when the Polk County District Court issued a ruling determining the statute was unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Iowa Constitution. The district court initially ordered the county recorder to begin processing marriage licenses for same-sex couples, but stayed the order during the pendency of an appeal by the Polk County.

Gay and lesbian couples may exchange vows as soon as April 24 following the landmark decision.

The Iowa Supreme Court's ruling has some profound impacts to be seen with the current economic crisis in light that the decision to overturn the ban on gay marriage may see an economic boon as other states like Wisconsin and Illinois that ban gay marriage that it means businesses could see $160 million in new spending during the next three years, a UCLA study concluded.

With Iowa being in close proximity to Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri means that Iowa could draw an estimated 55,000 out-of-state couples who spend money on weddings and tourism-related activities which was cited by the UCLA study.

Advocates for same-sex marriage celebrated the ruling as a breakthrough for civil rights, while conservative critics called the ruling an attack on traditional marriage and said the court overstepped its authority. This recent ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court could set certain precedents as some states nearby Iowa are considering laws to have their law books recognize domestic partnerships while getting some states to have their highest courts trying to overturn bans on gay marriage that have been already been approved by the voters on the ballot and initiative process.

Iowa's overturned ban could set precedents in other states with laws similar to Iowa. Indiana which has a law closely identical to Iowa's already has been challenged by three gay couples who were denied marriage licenses in Marion and Hendricks counties in Indiana. Those couples gave up their fight after the state law was upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals in 2005 in which Indiana's intermediate appeals court found the law does not violate the state Constitution because the state has a legitimate interest in promoting heterosexual marriage to establish a stable environment for children.

Attorney Camilla Taylor of Lambda Legal who led the challenge to the Iowa ban, said the group plans to work to overturn bans in other Midwestern states including Wisconsin.

History of the court

The Iowa Supreme Court in Des Moines, Iowa

In 1846, Iowa joined the United States. Following the constitution of the federal government, the powers of the government in Iowa were divided into the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. In the judicial branch, the General Assembly divided the state into four judicial districts, and Supreme court justices were to serve six year terms, while district judges were elected for five year terms. The Iowa Constitution of 1857 increased the judicial districts from four to 11, and allowed the General Assembly to reorganize districts after 1860 and every four years thereafter.

Notable firsts

• In Re the Matter of Ralph was the first decision of the Iowa Supreme Court, which occurred in July 1839.
• Iowa was the first state to admit women to the practice of law in 1869.

External links

• Iowa Supreme Court Official Site
• Quad-City Times, "Iowa rewrites judicial ethics rules", May 1, 2010

References

2012

See also: Iowa judicial elections, 2012

Justices David Wiggins, Edward Mansfield, Bruce B. Zager, and Thomas Waterman were all up for retention in 2012; all were retained. Wiggins had previously been retained; Mansfield, Zager, and Waterman were up for retention for the first time.

To organize the columns, click on the arrows in the column heading.

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
ZagerBruce B. Zager   A	Yes		74.1%A
WigginsDavid Wiggins   A	Yes		54.5%A
MansfieldEdward Mansfield   A	Yes		74.3%A
WatermanThomas Waterman   A	Yes		74.8%A

2010

See also: 2010 State Supreme Court elections

Justices David Baker, Marsha Ternus, and Michael Streit were all up for retention in 2010; all were defeated. Percentages in the below tables indicate the percentages against retention.

Iowa Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
David Baker D		n/a	54.19%

Iowa Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Marsha Ternus D		n/a	55.04%

Iowa Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Michael Streit D		n/a	54.43%

2008

See also: State Supreme Court elections, 2008

Justices Mark S. Cady, Daryl L. Hecht, and Brent R. Appel were up for retention in 2008; all were retained.

Iowa Supreme Court 2008 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Mark S. Cady		n/a	n/a

Iowa Supreme Court 2008 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Daryl Hecht		n/a	n/a

Iowa Supreme Court 2008 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Brent Appel		n/a	n/a