Iowa Supreme Court

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Iowa Supreme Court
State-Supreme-Courts-Ballotpedia-template.png
Court Information
Justices: 7
Founded: 1846
Location: Des Moines
Salary
Associates: $196,692[1]
Judicial Selection
Method: Assisted appointment (governor-controlled commission)
Term: 8 years
Active justices
 

Founded in 1846, the Iowa Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. As of September 2022, all seven judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.

The state supreme court meets in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building in Des Moines, Iowa.[2]

In Iowa, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

Jurisdiction

The Iowa Supreme Court is an appellate court, hearing appeals from trial courts. They do so by reviewing written records from the trial court to determine whether a significant legal error occurred.[3] The supreme court is responsible for providing rules for transfer of civil or criminal appeals to the court of appeals. The court is also responsible for prescribing rules for the supreme court to review decisions by the court of appeals.[4]

The supreme court has sole power to admit individuals to practice law in the state and to prescribe rules for attorney conduct and the discipline of attorneys.[5] The state supreme court has supervisory and administrative control over the judicial branch and over all judicial officers in the state.[6]

Justices

The table below lists the current judges of the Iowa Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office. 

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Office Name Party Date assumed office
Iowa Supreme Court Susan Christensen Nonpartisan 2018
Iowa Supreme Court Edward Mansfield Nonpartisan 2011
Iowa Supreme Court David May Nonpartisan August 19, 2022
Iowa Supreme Court Matthew McDermott Nonpartisan April 3, 2020
Iowa Supreme Court Christopher McDonald Nonpartisan April 5, 2019
Iowa Supreme Court Dana Oxley Nonpartisan February 24, 2020
Iowa Supreme Court Thomas Waterman Nonpartisan 2011


Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Iowa

The seven justices on the Iowa Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. When a vacancy occurs on the supreme court, the State Judicial Nominating Commission submits a list of three potential nominees to the governor, who appoints one to serve as a judge. The commission consists of 17 members—nine appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa State Senate and eight (two from each congressional district) elected by lawyers.[7]

Iowa law states that no more than a simple majority of the state nominating commission may be of the same gender.[8]

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 remain on the court. They then serve eight-year terms.[9]

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:[9]

  • licensed to practice law in the state;
  • a member of the Iowa bar;
  • a resident of the state, district, or county to which they are appointed; and
  • under the age of 72.

Note: 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).[10]

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is elected by peer vote and serves a two-year term.[9]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year and then stands for retention.[7]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.


Elections

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections

2024

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2024

The term of one Iowa Supreme Court justice will expire on December 31, 2024. The one seat was up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was July 24, 2024.

Candidates and results

May's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

David May was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 63.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
63.3
 
 774,294
No
 
36.7
 
 449,148
Total Votes
 1,223,442


2022

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2022

Candidates and results

McDermott's seat

Iowa Supreme Court, Matthew McDermott's seat

Matthew McDermott was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 67.5% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
67.5
 
 605,391
No
 
32.5
 
 291,264
Total Votes
 896,655

It has been certified. Source

Oxley's seat

Iowa Supreme Court, Dana Oxley's seat

Dana Oxley was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 67.0% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
67.0
 
 591,837
No
 
33.0
 
 291,799
Total Votes
 883,636

It has been certified. Source



2020

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2020

Candidates and results

Christensen's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Susan Christensen was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 73.0% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
73.0
 
 859,886
No
 
27.0
 
 317,598
Total Votes
 1,177,484

It has been certified. Source

Mansfield's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Edward Mansfield was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 69.2% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
69.2
 
 802,356
No
 
30.8
 
 356,374
Total Votes
 1,158,730

It has been certified. Source

McDonald's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Christopher McDonald was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 71.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
71.3
 
 825,661
No
 
28.7
 
 332,499
Total Votes
 1,158,160

It has been certified. Source

Waterman's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Thomas Waterman was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 69.9% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
69.9
 
 809,058
No
 
30.1
 
 348,665
Total Votes
 1,157,723

It has been certified. Source



2016

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2016

Justices who faced retention

■ Mark Cady Green check mark transparent.png
■ Daryl Hecht Green check mark transparent.png
■ Brent Appel Green check mark transparent.png

November 8 general election

Mark Cady was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 65.30% of the vote.

Iowa Supreme Court, Cady's seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMark Cady65.30%
Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results

Daryl Hecht was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 64.08% of the vote.

Iowa Supreme Court, Hecht's seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngDaryl Hecht64.08%
Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results

Brent Appel was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 64.36% of the vote.

Iowa Supreme Court, Appel's seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngBrent Appel64.36%
Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results

Caseloads

The Iowa Supreme Court does not provide specific numbers on its yearly caseload. According to a state judiciary publication:

  • Approximately 2,000 appeals are filed with the supreme court each year.
  • Of those, criminal appeals represent nearly 30%, appeals involving the termination of parental rights and children in need of assistance represent 25%, and family law appeals represent almost 20%.[14]

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

Ballotpedia Courts Determiners and Dissenters navigation ad.png In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

  • We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
  • We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
  • We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
  • We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

  • Number of justices: 7
  • Number of cases: 103
  • Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 68.0% (70)
  • Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Edward Mansfield (21)
  • Per curiam decisions: 13
  • Concurring opinions: 16
  • Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Brent Appel (13)
  • Dissenting opinions: 38
  • Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Brent Appel (20)

For the study's full set of findings in Iowa, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Ballotpedia Courts State Partisanship navigation ad.png Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

  • Strong Democrat
  • Mild Democrat
  • Indeterminate[15]
  • Mild Republican
  • Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.[16]

Iowa had a Court Balance Score of 3.29, indicating Republican control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

SSC by state.png


Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Iowa was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Iowa received a score of 0.21. Based on the justices selected, Iowa was the 15th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[17]

Noteworthy cases

The following are noteworthy cases heard before the Iowa Supreme Court. For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.


History of the court

The Iowa Supreme Court in Des Moines, Iowa

The territory of Iowa, established on June 12, 1838, had a territorial supreme court consisting of three justices appointed by the U.S. president, with the consent of the senate, to four-year terms. The court was required to hold at least one session in the territorial capital each year. When not in session, the judges rode circuit around the territory, divided into three districts, and acted as district court judges. At this time the Iowa territory included all of Minnesota, and some portions of North and South Dakota.[29]

The first general assembly of the territory passed a resolution requesting the supreme court to provide the legislature with a possible code of jurisprudence for the territory, leading to many laws being adopted by the territorial legislature that were written by the supreme court.[30] The constitution when Iowa gained statehood on December 28, 1846 provided for a supreme court, four district courts, and other lower courts. The supreme court was made up of three justices, elected by a joint vote of the general assembly, to six-year terms. The supreme court had appellate jurisdiction on all chancery cases, as well as for the correction of errors.[31] Justices were also given the duty to report "omissions, discrepancies, or other evident imperfections of the law" to the legislature.[32] A new 1857 constitution (which remains in effect today) called for justices to be elected. It also expanded their jurisdiction to include issuing a Writ and processes, and supervising all lower courts in the state. The constitution allowed the general assembly to reorganize judicial districts every four years. The size of the court increased over time up to eleven justices, but today there are seven justices on the Iowa supreme court.[33][34]

In 1962 Iowans approved a constitutional amendment providing that justices would be appointed based on assisted appointment of state court judges, or merit selection. The governor appoints a candidate to the court from a list of qualified candidates provided by the state judicial nominating commission. The appointed justice is required to stand for retention elections at the next election after appointment, and every eight years after.[35]

Noteworthy firsts

  • In Re the Matter of Ralph was the first decision of the Iowa Supreme Court, made in July 1839.
  • Iowa was the first state to admit women to the practice of law in 1869.[28]

Ethics

The Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Iowa. It consists of four overarching canons:

“
  • Canon 1: A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. ...
  • Canon 2: A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently. ...
  • Canon 3: A judge shall conduct the judge's personal and extrajudicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office. ...
  • Canon 4: A judge or candidate for judicial office shall not engage in political or campaign activity that is inconsistent with the independence, integrity, or impartiality of the judiciary.[36][23]
 ”

The full text of the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Iowa may be removed in one of two ways:

  • A judge may be removed via impeachment by a majority vote of the members of the Iowa House of Representatives and then a conviction by a two-thirds vote of the Iowa State Senate.
  • The Iowa Judicial Qualification Commission hears allegations of misconducts, investigates, and then submits a recommendation to the Iowa Supreme Court that a judge be removed from the bench, disciplined, or retired.[37]

Courts in Iowa

See also: Courts in Iowa

In Iowa, there are two federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Iowa's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Iowa's state court system.

Party control of Iowa state government

A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Iowa has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

Iowa Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Governor R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D R R R R R R R R S S D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R
House D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R


See also

Iowa Judicial Selection More Courts
Seal of Iowa.png
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Courts in Iowa
Iowa Court of Appeals
Iowa Supreme Court
Elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Iowa
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
  2. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court," accessed September 17, 2021
  3. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch,"Supreme Court," accessed June 17, 2024
  4. ↑ The Iowa Legislature,"602.4102 Jurisdiction," accessed June 17, 2024
  5. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch,"Supreme Court," accessed June 17, 2024
  6. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch,"Supreme Court," accessed June 17, 2024
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Iowa Judicial Nominating Commissions, "State Judicial Nominating Commission," accessed September 13, 2021
  8. ↑ Iowa Legislature, "CHAPTER 46, 46.1 and 46.2," accessed September 13, 2021
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Iowa," September 13, 2021
  10. ↑ Iowa Legislature, "Judicial Retirement System," updated September 2015
  11. ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "2012 GENERAL ELECTION CANVASS SUMMARY," accessed September 20, 2021
  12. ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official Results Report, 2010 General Election held Tuesday, November 2nd 2010," accessed September 20, 2021
  13. ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State of Iowa Official Canvass Summary, November 4, 2008 General Election," accessed September 20, 2021
  14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named guide
  15. ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
  16. ↑ The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
  17. ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Gazette, "Iowa justices uphold controversial collective bargaining changes," May 17, 2019
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Supreme Court of Iowa, "AFSCME Iowa Council 61 v. Iowa: Decision," May 17, 2019
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Des Moines Register, "Traffic camera restrictions from DOT are tossed by Iowa Supreme Court," April 27, 2018
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Insurance Journal, "Court: Iowa farmers who host tours can be liable," February 19, 2013
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Justia, "Sallee v. Stewart," February 15, 2013
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  24. ↑ The Boston Herald, "Iowa Supreme Court considers gay marriage ban," December 9, 2008
  25. ↑ NBC News, "Iowa Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage," April 3, 2009
  26. ↑ FindLaw, "VARNUM v. BRIEN," April 3, 2009
  27. ↑ Globe Gazette, "Same-sex weddings likely part of state marriage increases," July 24, 2010
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Iowa Judicial Branch, "Civil Rights," accessed September 20, 2021 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "iacourts" defined multiple times with different content
  29. ↑ The Annals of Iowa,"The Historical Development and Composition of the Iowa Supreme Court," accessed June 17, 2024
  30. ↑ The Annals of Iowa,"The Historical Development and Composition of the Iowa Supreme Court," accessed June 17, 2024
  31. ↑ The Annals of Iowa,"The Historical Development and Composition of the Iowa Supreme Court," accessed June 17, 2024
  32. ↑ State Historical Society of Iowa,"RG 055 Supreme Court and Court of Appeals," accessed June 17, 2024
  33. ↑ The Annals of Iowa,"The Historical Development and Composition of the Iowa Supreme Court," accessed June 17, 2024
  34. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch,"Iowa Courts History," accessed June 17, 2024
  35. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch,"Justices," accessed June 17, 2024
  36. ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch, "Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct," accessed September 20, 2021
  37. ↑ National Center For State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Removal of Judges," accessed September 20, 2021

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


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