Iowa District Seven

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Court

Ballotpedia:Trial Courts
Iowa District Court 7

Iowa District Seven is a district court in Iowa. It encompasses the counties of Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine and Scott.[1]

Judges

Associate judges:

Senior judges:

Magistrates

Former judges

See also

External links


Iowa courts

Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa

State courts:

Iowa Supreme Court • Iowa Court of Appeals • Iowa district courts

State resources:

Courts in Iowa • Iowa judicial elections • Judicial selection in Iowa

Elections

See also: Iowa judicial elections

Iowa is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Iowa, click here.

Selection method

See also: Assisted appointment (judicial selection)

Judges of the Iowa District Courts are all appointed by the governor with help from a nominating commission. When a vacancy occurs on one of the courts, the commission submits a list of three potential nominees to the governor, who appoints one to serve as judge. Newly appointed judges serve for one year after their appointment; they must then compete in a yes-no retention election (occurring during the regularly scheduled general election) if they wish to continue serving.[3]

The chief judge is selected by the state supreme court.[3]

To serve, a judge must be licensed to practice law in the state, a member of Iowa bar, a resident of the district and under the age of 72*.[3]

*Retirement at 72 is mandatory, though older judges may apply to become a senior judge. Senior judges must work a minimum of 13 weeks a year and are to receive a monthly retirement annuity and an annual stipend. They must retire at age 78 (or 80, if reappointed by the supreme court for additional one-year terms).[4]

Election rules

Retention election

In Iowa's retention elections, voters are asked to decide whether a judge should remain in office. The judge is retained for a new term if a majority of voters answers with a "yes" vote. If the majority responds with a "no" vote, the judge is removed from the bench at the end of the term.[5]

Judges must file for retention at least 104 days prior to the election which precedes the end of their term. If a judge does not file a declaration of candidacy, the term will become vacant upon expiration.[6]

According to a brochure released by the Iowa Judicial Branch, the purpose of Iowa's retention elections is to evaluate the competency of judges, as opposed to the popularity of their individual rulings.[5]


Footnotes

  1. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch, "7th District Court," accessed September 5, 2014
  2. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch, "Judges and Magistrates-District 7," accessed September 5, 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Iowa," archived October 2, 2014
  4. ↑ Legislative Services Agency, "Judicial Retirement System," July 2013
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 American Judicature Society, "What you need to know about judicial retention elections: A guide to Iowa's judicial retention elections," 2012, accessed June 7, 2014
  6. ↑ The Iowa Legislature, "Election Laws of Iowa: 46.20 Declaration of candidacy," accessed June 20, 2016
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