Des Moines—Today, the State of Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission posted the interview schedule for the twenty-two Iowans who applied with the commission to fill the vacancy on the Iowa Supreme Court that will occur when Justice Bruce Zager retires September 3, 2018.
The nominating commission will meet Monday, July 9, in the Iowa Supreme Court Courtroom on the fourth floor of the Judicial Branch Building to interview the applicants. The public is invited to observe the interviews in the courtroom. The interviews will also be live streamed and the videos archived on the Iowa Judicial Branch YouTube channel for those unable to observe in person.
Tuesday afternoon, immediately following the last interview, the commission will begin deliberations to select a slate of three 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.
Each applicant’s application is posted at: https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/judicial-vacancy/2018-applicants-for-judicial-vacancy .
The commission welcomes written comments from the public about the qualifications of any of the applicants. Comments must be submitted to the secretary of the commission by the conclusion of all of the interviews. Comments may be e-mailed to [email protected]. Comments may also be mailed to the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission Secretary, 1111 E. Court Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319.
The 17-member commission is composed of a chair, who is the senior justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice, eight lawyer commissioners elected by lawyers licensed to practice law in Iowa and eight non-lawyer commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. With the exception of the commission chair, membership on the commission is limited to one six-year term. Terms are staggered. The Iowa Constitution requires that commission members be chosen without regard to political affiliation. For more information about Iowa's process for selecting judges at https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/judicial-vacancy/ .
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For More Information:
Contact: The State Judicial Nominating Commission through Steve Davis, Court Communication Director, (515) 348-4967 or [email protected]