Litigation

Pastor Files Complaint Against IA Judge

By Peter Hardin

A Polk County, Iowa judge is the target of a complaint by a Sioux City cleric, accusing the jurist of voter intimidation. It?s part of the fallout from an ouster drive to remove three state Supreme Court justices in November retention elections.

The Rev. Cary K. Gordon lodged the complaint on behalf of PeaceMakers Institute in Sioux City, according to an article in the Sioux City Journal.

Gordon?s complaint alleged that Judge Hansen stated during a panel discussion at Waterloo College that the drive to oust three justices was at best, misguided, and at worst, an abuse of the system.

Judge Hanson told the newspaper he was not trying to discourage anyone from voting, and that he wants people to cast their votes ?in a responsible and informed fashion.? You can read about the ouster campaign, responding to a unanimous ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, in Gavel Grab.

Meanwhile  former lieutenant governors Joy Corning, a Republican, and Sally Pederson, a Democrat, were preparing to announce today a coalition to “”educate Iowans about an effort to hijack Iowa’s courts,” the Des Moines Register reported.

The group, “Justice, Not Politics” is intended to protect Iowa’s merit selection system for choosing judges.

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