Iowa Judicial Branch New Hires (January 2020-June 2021)
Iowa Supreme Court Justice Dana Oxley
February 24, 2020
Justice Oxley, Swisher, was appointed to the Supreme Court in January 2020. Prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Oxley practiced with Shuttleworth & Ingersoll PLC in Cedar Rapids. Justice Oxley is married and has two children. Her current term expires December 31, 2022.
Iowa Supreme Court Justice Matthew McDermott
April 27, 2020
Justice McDermott, West Des Moines, was appointed to the Supreme Court in April 2020. Justice McDermott worked as an attorney in private practice until his appointment. Justice McDermott is married and has three children. His current term expires December 31, 2022.
Juvenile Court Services Quality Improvement Manager Luna Baccam
July 9, 2021
Luna has a Bachelor’s Degree in Child & Family Services with a strong emphasis in Criminal Justice from Iowa State University. Luna worked for the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) for nearly 19 years in various roles in Child Welfare and Case Management.
Juvenile Court Services Project Manager Kathy Vrieze
June 14, 2021
Kathy has a BA in Education and History from Briar Cliff University and an MSW from the University of Iowa. She has also completed coursework in special education and school administration.
State Court Administration Legal Counsel Molly Weber
June 25, 2021
Molly received a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. from the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. She served as a law clerk at the U.S. Federal District Court for the Southern District of Iowa; served as legal counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel for the U.S. Secret Service; and for the past seven years she served as an Assistant Attorney General in Des Moines in the Special Litigation Division and in the Licensing and Administrative Law Division.
Director of Finance Jon Cleereman
January 4, 2021
Jon received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Management from Augustana University and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Drake University. Jon has over twenty years of experience with the Iowa Department of Revenue.
State Court Administration Staff Attorney Amber Shanahan-Fricke
January 10, 2020
Ms. Shanahan-Fricke graduated from Cornell College, Phi Beta Kappa, and received her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was a Managing Editor on the Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice.
Director of Juvenile Court Services Chad Jensen
January 1, 2020
Chad graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology. Chad worked as a Juvenile Court Officer in the Fifth Judicial District for 15 years, five of those years as a Chief Juvenile Court Officer.
Statewide Coordinator for Problem-Solving Courts Dr. Eric Howard
January 1, 2020
Dr. Howard received an Associate Degree in Science from Georgia Military College in 1995, a Bachelor of Social Work from Mars Hill College in 2004, a Master of Social Work from the University of South Carolina in 2005 and his Doctorate in Education, Leadership & Policy Analysis from East Tennessee State University in 2015. Dr. Howard has served in public systems for 18 years in mental health, specialty treatment courts, and public education.
Director of Education Kimberly Carson
January 10, 2020
Kim earned her a BA from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. She is a certified adult education facilitator and a member of The National Association of State Judicial Educators participating on multiple national committees.
Director of Human Resources Todd Sadler
April 29, 2020
Todd earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Behavior from Grand View University and a Master of Science degree in Vocational Counseling from Drake University. Todd brings more than 20 years of human resource experience and served as the Director Office of Employee Services with the Iowa Department of Transportation for close to eleven years.
District Court Judge Jeffrey Bert
Appointed January 10, 2020
Judge Bert, District 7, was engaged in the private practice of law.
District Court Judge Roger Sailer
Appointed January 10, 2020, Judge Sailer, District 3B, worked as the Crawford County Attorney, Assistant Crawford County Attorney, and Associate Attorney at Munot, Franck, and Schumacher Law Firm.
District Court Judge Melissa Anderson-Seeber
Appointed September 4, 2020
Judge Anderson-Seeber, District 1, served as Chief Local Public Defender in the Waterloo Juvenile Public Defender's Office from 2006 until her appointment.
District Court Judge John Flynn
Appointed September 4, 2020
Judge Flynn, District 2, practiced law as a shareholder with the Jordan & Mahoney Law Firm, P.C., in Boone, where he maintained a general county seat practice with a focus on civil and criminal trial work. District Court Judge Shayne Mayer
Appointed October 2, 2020
Judge Mayer, District 3, was engaged in the private practice of law in Iowa and South Dakota..
District Court Judge Jennifer Miller
Appointed April 2, 2021
Judge Miller, District 2, served in the Marshalltown Office of the State Public Defender and as assistant county attorney in Marshall County.
District Court Judge John Sandy
Appointed April 26, 2021
Judge Sandy, District 3, was in private practice at Sandy Law Firm and was a former 1st Assistant Public Defender for the state of Minnesota.
District Court Judge Justin Lightfoot
Appointed April 16, 2021
Judge Lightfoot, District 6, served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Carol E. Jackson in the Eastern District of Missouri for four years. Since clerking, he has served as Assistant United States Attorney from 2010-2021, and was Chief of the Criminal Division from 2018-2021.
District Associate Judge Derek Johnson
Appointed February 10, 2020
Judge Johnson, District 2B, worked as an associate attorney for Blake Parker Law Office from 1999 to 2004, was the Humboldt County attorney from 2004-2005, and then began the Derek Johnson Law Office and worked in private practice.
District Associate Judge Brent Pattison
Appointed May 11, 2020
Judge Pattison, District 5, was a clinical professor of law at Drake University Law School, as well as a staff attorney for Team Child in Seattle, Washington.
District Associate Judge Kimberly Rogers Smith
Appointed January 8, 2021
Judge Smith, District 5, worked as an associate attorney at Roehrick Law Firm from 2003 to 2008, an assistant public defender in the Des Moines Public Defender's Office from 2008 to 2020, and as an adjunct professor at Drake University Law School from 2017 to 2021 prior to her appointment.
District Associate Judge Kimberly Shepherd
Appointed March 12, 2021
Judge Shepherd, District 7, received her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and is currently employed as a Senior Assistant County Attorney with the Scott County Attorney’s Office.
Magistrate Adam Miller
January 25, 2020
Magistrate Joshua Walsh
February 21, 2020
Magistrate Patrick Bigsby
August 7, 2020
Magistrate Theresa Rachel
September 18, 2020
Magistrate Shireen Carter
October 1, 2020
Magistrate Anne Quail
October 3, 2020
Magistrate Sarah Livingston
December 7, 2020
Magistrate Meggen Roan
January 20, 2021
Magistrate Kevin Huyser
February 1, 2021
Magistrate Kathrine Abel
June 21, 2021
Magistrate Kyle Maurer
June 21, 2021
Iowa Judicial Branch Departures (January 2020-June 2021)
Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins
March 12, 2020
Justice Wiggins, West Des Moines, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2003. Justice Wiggins began his legal career as an associate in the West Des Moines law firm of Williams, Hart, Lavorato & Kirtley. He became a partner in the firm in 1979
Director of Finance and Personnel Peggy Sullivan
December 14, 2018
Director of Education Jennifer Juhler
January 9, 2020
Director of Finance Kent Farver
August 14, 2020
Counsel to the State Court Administrator Elaine Newell
April 9, 2021
State Court Administrator Todd Nuccio
April 30, 2021
State Court Administrator Todd Nuccio
April 30, 2021
Chief District Court Judge Kurt Wilke
December 31, 2020
Judge Wilke, District 2, was appointed to the bench in 1992. Judge Wilke was in private practice in Fort Dodge from 1974 until his appointment to the bench and also served as Webster County Magistrate from 1977 to 1992
Chief District Court Judge Patrick Grady
December 31, 2020
Judge Grady, District 6, was appointed as a full-time juvenile referee in 1989, was appointed to the district court bench in 1995, and was named Chief Judge of the Sixth Judicial District in 2009.
District Court Judge Mary Howes
February 7, 2020
Judge Howes, District 7, was appointed to the bench in 2006. Judge Howes served as Scott County Assistant County attorney for seven years before becoming a judicial magistrate. She served as Scott County Magistrate from 1993 until she was appointed Associate District Court Judge in 2007 where she served until she was appointed District Judge.
District Court Judge George Stigler
July 30, 2020
Judge Stigler, District 1, was appointed to the bench in 1978. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa and his law degree from the University of Iowa.
District Court Senior Judge James McGlynn
September 3, 2020
Judge McGlynn, District 2, was appointed to the district court bench in November 2012. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa and his law degree from the University of Iowa.
District Court Senior Judge Don Courtney
October 1, 2020
Judge Courtney, District 3, was appointed to the bench in May 2001. Judge Courtney has served as Assistant Tama County Attorney, Assistant Kossuth County Attorney, and in private practice.
District Court Judge David Lester
March 2, 2021
Judge Lester, District 3, was appointed to the bench in September 1998. He was a practicing attorney in Estherville from 1991 until appointed to the bench in 1998. He served as Emmet County Judicial Hospitalization Referee from February 1991 and as Assistant City Attorney for Armstrong, Iowa from 1991 until his appointment to the bench.
District Associate Judge Colin Witt
February 23, 2020
Judge Witt. District 5, was appointed to the bench in 2006. From 1999 to 2002, Judge Witt served as a law clerk to then Chief Judge Ronald E. Longstaff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. From 2002 to 2006, Judge Witt practiced law at a private firm in Des Moines. He was a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel. He served as a Polk County Magistrate from 2005 to 2006.
District Associate Judge Barbara Liesveld
July 12, 2020
Judge Liesveld, District 6, was appointed to the bench as a district associate judge in 2006. Judge Liesveld clerked for Justice James H. Carter of the Iowa Supreme Court from 1987 to 1988 and served as a part-time staff attorney with the Linn County Advocate Office from 1991 to 1994. She also served as a Linn County Magistrate from 1997 to 2006 while in private practice in Cedar Rapids for 19 years.
District Associate Judge Carol Coppola
September 15, 2020
Judge Coppola, District 5, was appointed to the bench in July 2001. Judge Coppola had been in private practice for 21 years
District Associate Judge Phillip Tabor
January 31, 2021
Judge Tabor, District 7, was appointed to the bench in 2008. He served as an Assistant County Attorney, an Assistant Public Defender, and an Assistant Attorney General in the State of Wyoming.
District Associate Judge Jeffrey Harris
June 22, 2021
Judge Harris, District 1, was appointed to the bench in 1997. He began his law career with the United States Army and served until 1989. Prior to his appointment, Judge Harris worked as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate, as well as in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Legal Corporation of Iowa, and the Black Hawk County attorney's office.
Magistrate Warren Bush
February 19, 2020
Magistrate William Thatcher
September 4, 2020
Magistrate Jeffrey Queck
January 24, 2020
Magistrate Dan Vanderlinden
September 17, 2020
Magistrate Paul Caligiuri
October 2, 2020
Magistrate Jenny Winterfeld
January 1, 2021
Magistrate Diana Rolands
September 11, 2020
Magistrate James Pedersen
November 25, 2020
Magistrate Patrick Bigsby
June 11, 2021
Magistrate Richard Sucher
June 13, 2021
Magistrate Lisa Jones
June 20, 2021