Sixteen Iowans have applied with the State Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy on the Iowa Court of Appeals arising from the retirement of Judge Anuradha Vaitheswaran.
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/state-members-and-vacancies
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 July 9, 2023, at the email addresses on the State Judicial Nominating Commission website and by email to the Secretary of the commission at [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 Friday, July 14, 2023, 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 judge.
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 and Interview Schedule for Friday, July 14, 2023:
9:00 a.m. Christopher Spencer, Attorney, Peddicord Wharton LLP, Des Moines
9:20 a.m. Thomas Mayes, General Counsel, Iowa Department of Education, Des Moines
9:40 a.m. Amy Moore, District Court Judge, Second Judicial District, Ames
10:00 a.m. Christopher Kemp, District Associate Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Grimes
10:20 a.m. Jeffrey Farrell, District Court Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Urbandale
10:40 a.m. BREAK
10:50 a.m. David Ranscht, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Ankeny
11:10 a.m. Margaret Reyes, District Court Judge, Fourth Judicial District, Pacific Junction
11:30 a.m. Samuel Langholz, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Iowa Attorney General, Ankeny
11:50 a.m. Jeffrey Bert, District Court Judge, Seventh Judicial District, Bettendorf
12:10 p.m. LUNCH
1:00 p.m. Shawn Showers, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Washington
1:20 p.m. Aaron Ahrendsen, Attorney, Eich Werden Steger & Ahrendsen PC, Assistant Carroll County Attorney, Manning
1:40 p.m. Bradley Bender, Assistant Appellate Defender, Office of the State Appellate Defender, Ankeny
2:00 p.m. John Gish, Chief, Victim Assistance Section, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Adel
2:20 p.m. BREAK
2:30 p.m. Leslie Behaunek, Attorney, Nyemaster Goode, P.C., Norwalk
2:50 p.m. Heather Quick, Appellate Chief, Iowa Federal Public Defender’s Office, Cedar Rapids
3:10 p.m. Kevin McKeever, District Court Judge, Sixth Judicial District, Iowa City