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Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission
| Judicial nominating commissions |
|---|
 |
| Individual nominating committees |
| Select a committee in the dropdown below and click "Submit" to view information about that committee. |
| Methods of judicial selection |
| Partisan elections |
| Nonpartisan elections |
| Michigan method |
| Retention elections |
| Assisted appointment |
| Bar-controlled commission |
| Governor-controlled commission |
| Hybrid commission |
| Legislative elections |
| Gubernatorial appointment |
The Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission is an independent state commission in Iowa established by the Iowa Constitution that plays a role in the state's judicial selection process. The commission has 17 members, selected by both the governor and the Iowa Bar Association.[1] This is the commission responsible for vacancies on the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals. There are other commissions that handle vacancies on the Iowa District Courts.
Iowa uses the assisted appointment method of judicial selection for its state courts. Using this method, the governor appoints state judges from a list of names submitted by the commission. This selection method is used for all of the trial and appellate courts in the state.
The commission is a governor-controlled commission, which means that there is a majority of members chosen by the governor. As of September 12, 2025, 11 states used this type of commission. To learn more about controlling majorities in judicial selection commissions, click here.
Members
Last updated: April 2025
The commission has 17 members. Eight members, two from each of the state's congressional districts, are appointed by members of the state Bar association. The other nine commissioners are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa State Senate. The chair is chosen by the commission from among its members. Each member serves a six-year term.[1]
| Members of the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission, April 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Appointed by | Term-end date |
| Chair - Janece M. Valentine | Bar Association | June 30, 2025 |
| Secretary - Brett Roberts | Governor | April 30, 2028 |
| Kelsey Ann Ward Marquard | Bar Association | June 30, 2029 |
| Jennifer Chase | Bar Association | June 30, 2027 |
| Leon Spies | Bar Association | June 30, 2025 |
| Timothy S. Semelroth | Bar Association | June 30, 2027 |
| Alfredo Parrish | Bar Association | June 30, 2027 |
| Kristina Stranger | Bar Association | June 30, 2025 |
| Jerry Lee Schnurr | Bar Association | June 30, 2029 |
| Joshua Boyer | Governor | April 30, 2030 |
| Cheryl Hanson | Governor | April 30, 2026 |
| Brad Hartkopf | Governor | April 30, 2026 |
| Nancy Henderson | Governor | April 30, 2028 |
| Garrett Piklapp | Governor | April 30, 2026 |
| Ashley Hoegh | Governor | April 30, 2028 |
| Dustin Graber | Governor | April 30, 2030 |
| Isaac DeFord | Governor | April 30, 2030 |
Process
On its website, the commission lays out the following steps for filling a judicial vacancy:[2]
- The secretary of state notifies the governor of a judicial vacancy.
- The governor calls a meeting of the commission.
- The commission sends notices of the vacancy and instructions on how to apply to lawyers.
- The commission meets to interview applicants, discuss the applicants, and create a list of nominees for the governor. The list must be sent within 60 days of the notice of vacancy.
- The governor must make an appointment from the list of nominees within 30 days of receiving the list.
Duties
As of April 2025, the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission website did not list specific duties for members of the commission.
Noteworthy events
8th Circuit Court of Appeals rejects challenge to attorney commissioner selection (2012)
A 2011 lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleged Iowa's method of electing attorney members to the state's judicial nominating commission violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. However, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this constitutional challenge. The court found that because judges serving on the supreme court and the court of appeals are required to be members of the Iowa Bar, allowing attorneys to elect attorney members served a legitimate state interest. The court determined attorneys would more likely be able to assess the qualifications of a judicial candidate than an average citizen.[3]
Control of judicial selection commissions
Assisted appointment is a method of judicial selection in which a nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.[4]
At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types, based on the makeup of the judicial nominating commissions. Those types are:
- Governor-controlled commission - The governor is either responsible for appointing a majority of the members of the nominating commission or may decline to appoint a candidate from a list provided by the nominating commission.
- Bar-controlled commission - Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the members of the nominating commission.
- Hybrid - There is no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state Bar Association. The membership of these commissions is determined by different rules in each state.
Twenty-three courts in 22 states used assisted appointment to select state supreme court justices as of June 2021.[5][6] Iowa used a governor-controlled commission. The table below shows the number of courts using each variation of assisted appointment at the state supreme court level.
| Assisted appointment methods in state supreme courts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Courts (of 23) | ||
| Governor-controlled majority | 10 | ||
| Bar-controlled majority | 1 | ||
| Hybrid | 12 | ||
The map below highlights the states that use each of the three types of assisted appointment.
About judicial selection
Each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they select judges at the state and local level. These methods of selection are:
Election
- Partisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
- Nonpartisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
- Michigan method: State supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections preceded by either partisan primaries or conventions.
- Retention election: A periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. Judges are not selected for initial terms in office using this election method.
Assisted appointment
- Assisted appointment, also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.[4] At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types:
- Bar-controlled commission: Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees that they must choose from.
- Governor-controlled commission: The governor is responsible for appointing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees they must choose from.
- Hybrid commission: The judicial nominating commission has no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state bar association. These commissions determine membership in a variety of ways, but no institution or organization has a clear majority control.
Direct appointment
- Court appointment: Judges are selected by judges in the state judiciary.
- Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, approval from the legislative body is required.
- Legislative election: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
- Municipal government selection: Judges are selected by the governing body of their municipality.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Iowa JNC, "State Judicial Nominating Commission," accessed October 14, 2021
- ↑ Iowa JNC, "State Judicial Nominating Commission Procedures," accessed October 14, 2021
- ↑ On Brief: Iowa's Appellate Blog, "Eighth Circuit Rejects Constitutional Challenge to Iowa’s Judicial-Selection Method," April 9, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Bar Association, "Judicial Selection: The Process of Choosing Judges," June 2008 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ambaroverview" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ As of June 2021, Oklahoma had two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ North Dakota uses this method only for vacancies.
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa
State courts:
Iowa Supreme Court • Iowa Court of Appeals • Iowa district courts
State resources:
Courts in Iowa • Iowa judicial elections • Judicial selection in Iowa
