Litigation

Election 2010: Focus on Iowa

By Peter Hardin

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus says she and two fellow justices who are the target of an ouster campaign in fall retention (up-or-down) elections don’t plan a counter-campaign against those who would unseat them.

The three justices are the subjects of a campaign to deny them reelection following an Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Here is part of Justice Ternus’ reasoning, according to an Associated Press article:

“How would you feel, as a litigant, to appear in court and know that the opposing party’s attorney gave money to the judge’s re-election campaign and your attorney didn’t? Is that the kind of system Iowans want? I just hope they think about it. This is way more important than whether any one judge is retained or not.”

Although she and her targeted colleagues could set up campaign committees and raise treasuries, Justice Ternus said they have not done so because they don’t want sitting judges fretting about disturbing campaign donors.

“Critics of the court want people to exercise their vote based on their own view of court decisions. If the people of Iowa agree with that, I think they’re sending a message that we want you to decide cases based on public opinion,” the AP quoted Justice Ternus as saying.

“I think that would just be a horrible outcome if the voters send the message that it’s more important for cases to be decided based on popular opinion and political clout than the law.”

To learn more about the retention elections in Iowa, check out Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on October 01, 2010 (boomark / email).