Thirteen Iowans have applied with the State Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy on the Iowa Court of Appeals that occurred when Justice David May was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court.
Posted below is the State Judicial Nominating Commission interview schedule for the applicants. The interview schedule and applications will also be posted on the State Judicial Nominating Commission website at https://www.iowajnc.gov/state-commission.
The commission welcomes written comments from the public about the qualifications of any of the applicants. Comments must be submitted to the commission members via email no later than 11:59 P.M. on September 29, 2022, at the email addresses on the State Judicial Nominating Commission website and by email to the Secretary of the commission at mailto:[email protected]. Please note that any comments provided to the commission members may be subject to disclosure pursuant to Iowa’s Open Records Laws.
The commission will meet Monday, October 3, 2022, in the Iowa Supreme Court Courtroom on the fourth floor of the Judicial Branch Building to interview the applicants for the vacancy. The public is invited to observe the interviews in the courtroom. The interviews will be live-streamed and the videos archived on the Iowa Judicial Branch YouTube channel until the Governor selects a nominee to fill the vacancy.
Immediately following the interviews, the commission will begin deliberations to select a slate of five nominees from the group of applicants. Once the commission selects its slate of nominees, the commission will forward those names to the governor. The governor will then have thirty (30) days in which to appoint the new justice.
The 17-member commission is composed of eight commissioners elected by lawyers licensed to practice law in Iowa, and nine commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. The names of the commissioners are on the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commissions website.
List of Applicants with Application, Writing Samples, and Interview Schedule for Monday, October 3, 2022:
9:00 a.m. Gretchen Kraemer, Senior Attorney, MidAmerican Energy Company, Johnston
9:20 a.m. Alan Heavens, District Court Judge, First Judicial District, Garnavillo
9:40 a.m. Thomas Mayes, General Counsel, Iowa Department of Education, Des Moines
10:00 a.m. Amy Moore, District Court Judge, Second Judicial District, Ames
10:20 a.m. Jennifer Bailey, District Associate Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Burlington
10:40 a.m. BREAK
10:50 a.m. Aaron Ahrendsen, Attorney, Eich Werden Steger & Ahrendsen PC, Assistant Carroll County Attorney, Manning
11:10 a.m. Patrick McElyea, District Court Judge, Seventh Judicial District, Davenport
11:30 a.m. Tyler Buller, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Department of Justice, Johnston
11:50 a.m. LUNCH BREAK
1:00 p.m. David Ranscht, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Ankeny
1:20 p.m. Samuel Langholz, Assistant Solicitor General and Assistant Attorney General, Office of Attorney General Tom Miller, Ankeny
1:40 p.m. William Miller, Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Des Moines
2:00 p.m. Christopher Kemp, District Associate Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Grimes
2:20 p.m. Erin Lain, Associate Dean for Academic Services and Tenured Professor of Law, Drake University Law School, Des Moines