Litigation

Presidential Hopefuls Wade Into IA Ouster Debate

By Peter Hardin

Two Republicans who are potential presidential candidates have waded into Iowa’s  debate on efforts to unseat three state Supreme Court justices over the court’s legalizing same-sex marriage (see Gavel Grab posts).

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (photo at right) called it appropriate for voters to oust the judges over the controversial ruling, while Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (photo at left) did not go quite so far, saying voters have a right to deny reelection to judges when they disagree with a ruling.

?Iowans are unique in that they have the ability this fall to send a very clear and simple message that the court?s behavior is unacceptable by just voting ?no? on the three judges who are up for reappointment,? Gingrich said in a radio interview, according to an Iowa Independent article.  ?If a majority of Iowans vote ?no,? that will send a signal to the whole country that there is a citizens revolt under way.?

Gingrich added that whenever you turn around, the ?legal class has decided that it now has the right to dictate to the rest of us.? He added, ?We?re going to have to fundamentally revisit how we deal with judges because the judicial branch has grown much too powerful and much too dictatorial and now regularly over reaches in telling the rest of us how to live.?

Pawlenty, visiting Iowa, told the Associated Press that before deciding whether to support the ouster effort, he would have to review the justices’ records.

“The notion that judges stand for election is embedded in the Iowa Constitution. It’s embedded in the Minnesota Constitution,” he said. “It’s the right and privilege of the citizens of this state and my state to weigh in on whether they like or don’t like the job that a judge is doing and to agree or disagree with him.”

When Pawlenty was asked about a campaign to be led by Bob Vander Plaats, a former Republican candidate for Iowa governor, to unseat the justices in retention elections this fall, he said marriage should be limited to one man and one woman.

“I think the law should support that, and to the extent you have judges inserting their personal views to change that, I don’t like it,” Pawlenty said.

Full post as published by The Gavel on August 13, 2010 (boomark / email).