Judicial Selection in the States: Iowa
Overview
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O Connor today urged Iowans to preserve the system of merit-based selection of judges that protects a fair...
The Iowa judiciary is composed of two appellate courts--the supreme court and the court of appeals -- and the unified district court. Iowa judges are chosen through merit selection, where a nominating commission identifies a list of highly qualified candidates and the governor appoints a judge from that list. After one year in office, and then at regular intervals, judges stand in retention elections. Since Iowa adopted a merit plan with retention elections, only four judges have not been retained.
To educate voters regarding judges who are standing for retention, the web site of the Iowa judicial branch provides basic information such as year of appointment to the bench, prior legal experience, law school and undergraduate degrees, professional association memberships, and honors and awards. In addition, the Iowa State Bar Association conducts a poll asking its members whether they approve of judges who are up for retention. The results of the poll are made public prior to the election.