Litigation

Post: Iowa Election at ?Center Stage? in Gay Marriage Fight

By Charlie Hall

Iowa’s “normally low-key” retention election for three state Surpeme Court justices “has suddenly taken center stage in the national fight over same-sex marriage,” according to a Washington Post front-page article today.

With three justices facing an ouster campaign for taking part in a unanimous ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa, the article probes whether the election threatens the ability of judges to focus on the law, and not on electoral politics.

“We need to vote them off the bench to send a message across Iowa that we, the people, still have the power,” said Bob Vander Plaats, a Republican politician who is spearheading the campaign. “Not only will it send a message here in Iowa, but it will send a message in California, in Arizona and across the country that the courts have really taken on too much power.”

In response, the article quotes former Iowa justice Mark McCormick as saying: “I’ve used the word ‘vengeance’ before in describing what this campaign is about. I think it is a challenge to judicial independence. There’s an effort being made to succeed in turning out of office these three good judges for an inappropriate reason.”

Added Carolyn S. Jenison, executive director of One Iowa, a gay advocacy group, “I think those opponents of same-sex marriage are going to grab hold of this and run with it, and it will be a big battle ax that they can shake around and say, ‘You’re next.’ ”

Vander Plaats has vowed to raise millions to unseat the three justices on the ballot. By contrast, the Post report, none of the three judges has formed a campaign committee or spoken publicly on their own behalf.

To learn more, see these previous Gavel Grab posts.

Full post as published by The Gavel on August 27, 2010 (boomark / email).