Litigation

Cady: Campaigns for IA Justices in Future?

By Peter Hardin

Chief Justice Mark S. Cady of the Iowa Supreme Court says jurists on that bench may have to raise money and campaign actively in future retention elections.

Justice Cady, in a TV interview, said the Election Day ouster of three of his colleagues may leave Iowa Supreme Court justices no option in the future but to raise money and campaign for re-election, according to a Radio Iowa report. The three justices who were ousted last year did not mount campaigns.

?I don?t think Iowans are going to enjoy it, if that?s the path that we do follow,? he said. ?I don?t know what another two years is going to hold, but if that, indeed is what judges have to do to stay on the bench and perform their duties, then I?m sure that?s the direction that this state will be going.”

The chief justice said he “absolutely” did not regret the Iowa Supreme Court’s controversial decision that preceded last year’s ouster drive. The unanimous ruling permitted same-sex marriages.

?That decision was crafted with all of the energy, all of the strength ? everything that we do as judges is in that opinion,? he said. ?Everything that Iowa is about is in that opinion.?

The justice said his agreement to the TV interview was part of an effort to explain the court’s mission more aggressively, an Associated Press article reported.

Under Iowa’s merit selection system for choosing judges, state Supreme Court justices appear on a retention (up-or-down) ballot. Learn more about the Iowa controversy from Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 18, 2011 (boomark / email).