Des Moines—Twenty-two Iowans have applied with the State Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy on the Iowa Supreme Court that will occur when Justice Bruce Zager retires September 3, 2018.
The nominating commission will meet Monday, July 9, in the Iowa Supreme Court Courtroom on the fourth floor of the Judicial Branch Building to interview the applicants. The public is invited to observe the interviews in the courtroom. The interviews will also be live streamed and the videos archived on the Iowa Judicial Branch YouTube channel for those unable to observe in person. A schedule of the interviews will be posted at https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/judicial-vacancy/ as soon as the schedule is available.
Immediately following the interviews, the commission will begin deliberations to select a slate of three nominees from the group of applicants. Once the commission selects its slate of nominees, the commission will forward those names to the governor. The governor will then have thirty (30) days in which to appoint the new justice.
Each applicant’s application is posted at: https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/judicial-vacancy/2018-applicants-for-judicial-vacancy .
The commission welcomes written comments from the public about the qualifications of any of the applicants. Comments must be submitted to the secretary of the commission by the conclusion of all of the interviews. Comments may be e-mailed to appellate.vacancy@iowacourts.gov. Comments may also be mailed to the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission Secretary, 1111 E. Court Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319.
The 17-member commission is composed of a chair, who is the senior justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice, eight lawyer commissioners elected by lawyers licensed to practice law in Iowa and eight non-lawyer commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. With the exception of the commission chair, membership on the commission is limited to one six-year term. Terms are staggered. The Iowa Constitution requires that commission members be chosen without regard to political affiliation. For more information about Iowa's process for selecting judges at https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/judicial-vacancy/ .
The applicants for the court are:
Romonda Belcher, District Associate Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Des Moines
Mary Chicchelly, District Court Judge, Sixth Judicial District, Cedar Rapids
Susan Christensen, District Court Judge, Fourth Judicial District, Harlan
Terri Combs, Attorney, Faegre Baker Daniels, LLP, West Des Moines
Jean Dickson, Attorney, Betty, Neuman & McMahon, PLC, Bettendorf
Barb Diment, Attorney, Barb Diment Law PLC, West Des Moines
Timothy Gartin, Attorney, Hastings, Gartin & Boettger, Ames
Mary Pat Gunderson, Attorney, Des Moines
Andrew Kahl, Assistant United States Attorney, US Attorney's Office, Southern District of Iowa, Des Moines
Mitchell Kunert, Attorney, Nyemaster Good, P.C., Des Moines
Christine Lebron-Dykeman, Attorney, McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC, Des Moines
Kellyann Lekar, District Court Judge, First Judicial District, Waterloo
Lana Luhring, Attorney, Lair and Luhring Law Office, Center Point
Christopher McDonald, Court of Appeals Judge, Iowa Court of Appeals, Des Moines
Craig Nierman, Attorney, Phelan, Tucker, Mullen, Walker, Tucker & Gelman, LLP, Iowa City
Dustria Relph, District Court Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Corydon
Allan Richards, Attorney, Richards Law Firm, Tama
Anjela Shutts, Attorney, Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C., Des Moines
Abbe Stensland, Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel, Central State Bank, Lisbon
Patrick Tott, District Court Judge, Third Judicial District, Sioux City
Molly Weber, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Adel
Lisa Williams, Assistant United States Attorney, US Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa, Iowa City
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For More Information:
Contact: The State Judicial Nominating Commission through Steve Davis, Court Communication Director, (515) 348-4967 or steve.davis@iowacourts.gov