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Iowa Supreme Court justice vacancy (November 2019)
 |
|---|
| Cady Vacancy Iowa Supreme Court |
| Vacancy date |
| Vacancy status |
| Nomination date |
| January 28, 2020 |
| Table of contents |
|
Appointee candidates Selection process About Chief Justice Cady |
| See also |
| Recent news External links Footnotes |
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) appointed Dana Oxley to the Iowa Supreme Court on January 28, 2020. Oxley succeeded Chief Justice Mark Cady, who died of a heart attack on November 15, 2019.[1][2] Oxley was Gov. Reynolds' third nominee to the seven-member supreme court.
Under Iowa law, the governor appoints supreme court justices with help from the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission, a 17-member body responsible for recommending potential nominees to the governor. The commission is chaired by the senior associate justice—other than the chief justice—of the state supreme court.[3]
The appointee
- See also: Dana Oxley
At the time of her appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court, Oxley was an attorney with Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C. in Cedar Rapids. She was also an adjunct law professor at the University of Iowa College of Law. Oxley previously served as a law clerk for Judge David R. Hansen on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.[1]
Oxley obtained a B.A. in accounting from the University of Northern Iowa in 1990. She earned a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was Order of the Coif, in 1998. During her legal studies, Oxley was a member of the Journal of Corporation Law, serving as an articles editor from 1997 to 1998.[4]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Iowa
At the time of the vacancy, the governor appointed judges of the Iowa Supreme Court with help from the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission.[5] Within 60 days of receiving notice of the vacancy from the secretary of state, the commission would submit the names of three nominees to the governor, who would appoint one nominee to the court.[6]
Newly appointed judges would serve for one year. They must compete in a yes-no retention election (occurring during the regularly scheduled general election) if they wish to continue serving.[5]
Nominating commission
- See also: Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission
At the time of the vacancy, the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission handled the nomination and appointment of new state supreme court justices by evaluating candidates who apply for a vacancy. It consisted of 17 members: one chairperson (the senior associate justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, other than the chief justice), eight lawyers selected by licensed Iowa lawyers, and eight non-lawyers appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa State Senate.[3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On January 9, 2020, the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) submitted three finalists to Gov. Kim Reynolds' (R) office.[7]
- Judge Joel Barrows
- Attorney Matt McDermott
- Attorney Dana Oxley
Candidates
Twelve candidates applied to fill the position. The JNC interviewed the candidates on January 7, 2020.[8]
- Judge Joel Barrows
- Judge Romonda Belcher
- Judge Mary Chicchelly
- Attorney Timothy Gartin
- Judge David May
- Attorney Matthew McDermott
- Attorney William Miller
- Attorney Craig Nierman
- Attorney Alan Ostergren
- Attorney Dana Oxley
- Assistant Attorney General Lisa Reel Schmidt
- Assistant appellate defender Theresa Wilson[8]
Makeup of the court
Following Cady's death, the Iowa Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Brent Appel | Appointed by Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) in 2006 | |
| ■ Susan Christensen | Appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in 2018 | |
| ■ Edward Mansfield | Appointed by Gov. Terry E. Branstad (R) in 2011 | |
| ■ Christopher McDonald | Appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in 2019 | |
| ■ Thomas Waterman | Appointed by Gov. Terry E. Branstad (R) in 2011 | |
| ■ David Wiggins | Appointed by Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) in 2003 |
About Chief Justice Cady
- See also: Mark Cady
Cady was the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court from 2011 to 2019. He was appointed to the court as an associate justice in 1998 by Governor Terry E. Branstad (R).[2]
In his role as chief justice, Cady expressed support for increasing technology in the court system, including text message reminders for court dates and online processing of small claims disputes.[9][10] Cady also wrote the opinion in Varnum v. Brien, a 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa.
Cady served on the Iowa Court of Appeals from 1994 to 1998. He was elected chief judge of the appellate court in 1997. He was a district court judge from 1986 to 1994 and a district associate judge from 1983 to 1986.
Cady received his undergraduate degree from Drake University and his J.D. in 1978 from Drake University Law School.[4]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2019
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2019
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2019. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
| 2019 judicial vacancies filled by appointment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Date of Vacancy | Justice | Reason | Date Vacancy Filled | Successor |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Fred Lewis | Retirement | January 9, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Barbara Pariente | Retirement | January 14, 2019 | Robert J. Luck |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Peggy Quince | Retirement | January 22, 2019 | Carlos Muñiz |
| Kentucky Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | Bill Cunningham | Retirement | March 27, 2019 | David Buckingham |
| Mississippi Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | William Waller | Retirement | December 19, 2018 | Kenny Griffis |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | February 28, 2019 | Mark Martin | Private sector[11] | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley | Apppointed to new post[12] | March 11, 2019 | Mark Davis |
| Arizona Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | John Pelander | Retirement | April 26, 2019 | James Beene |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 10, 2019 | Patrick Wyrick | Elevation to a federal judgeship[13] | November 20, 2019 | Dustin Rowe |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 30, 2019 | John Reif | Retirement | September 17, 2019 | M. John Kane IV |
| Arizona Supreme Court | July 3, 2019 | Scott Bales | Private sector[14] | September 4, 2019 | Bill Montgomery |
| Texas Supreme Court | July 31, 2019 | Jeff Brown | Elevation to a federal judgeship[15] | August 26, 2019 | Jane Bland |
| New Hampshire Supreme Court | August 23, 2019 | Robert Lynn | Retirement | January 7, 2021 | Gordon MacDonald |
| Virginia Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Elizabeth McClanahan | Retirement | February 15, 2019 | Teresa M. Chafin |
| Vermont Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Marilyn Skoglund | Retirement | December 5, 2019 | William Cohen |
| Kansas Supreme Court | September 8, 2019 | Lee Johnson | Retirement | December 16, 2019 | Evelyn Z. Wilson |
| Delaware Supreme Court | October 30, 2019 | Leo E. Strine Jr. | Retirement | November 7, 2019 | Collins Seitz Jr. |
| Iowa Supreme Court | November 15, 2019 | Mark Cady | Death | January 28, 2020 | Dana Oxley |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 19, 2019 | Robert J. Luck | Elevation to a federal judgeship[16] | September 14, 2020 | Jamie Rutland Grosshans |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 20, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa | Elevation to a federal judgeship[17] | May 26, 2020 | John D. Couriel |
| Kansas Supreme Court | December 17, 2019 | Lawton Nuss | Retirement | March 11, 2020 | Keynen Wall |
| Maine Supreme Court | December 2019 | Jeffrey Hjelm | Retirement | January 6, 2020 | Catherine Connors |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Office of the governor of Iowa, "Gov. Reynolds appoints Dana Oxley to the Supreme Court," January 28, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Des Moines Register, "'He leaves behind a legacy of service and dedication that we should never forget': Iowa's leaders remember Chief Justice Mark Cady," updated November 17, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Iowa Judicial Branch, "Judicial Nominating Commission begins process for selecting nominees for Supreme Court vacancy," December 13, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 IowaCourts.gov, "State Judicial Nomination Commission and Office of the Governor Joint Judicial Application," accessed January 29, 2020 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 5.0 5.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Iowa," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ State of Iowa, "Nomination," accessed July 18, 2014
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Commission sends names of 3 finalists for Iowa Supreme Court vacancy to governor's office," January 9, 2020
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 KCCI Des Moines, "12 applicants to interview for Iowa Supreme Court vacancy," December 26, 2019
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Chief justice: Let Iowans resolve more court disputes online," January 16, 2019
- ↑ Whotv.com, "Chief Justice Mark Cady Wants Iowa Justice System More Tech Savvy," January 16, 2019
- ↑ Martin left the court to become the dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- ↑ Beasley was appointed chief justice of the court.
- ↑ Wyrick was confirmed to a seat on the Western District of Oklahoma on April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Bales left the court to become executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver.
- ↑ Brown was confirmed to a seat on the Southern District of Texas on July 31, 2019.
- ↑ Luck was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 19, 2019.
- ↑ Lagoa was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 20, 2019.
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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
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