Judges appointed by Terry Branstad
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This page lists judges appointed by Terry E. Branstad (R) during their term as Governor of Iowa. As of today, the total number of Branstad appointees was 33. For the full profile of Branstad, click here.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Iowa judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Branstad.
Appointment process
In Iowa, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are screened and recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints a judge, she or he must stand for retention after one year in office.[1]
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state.
State Courts
Supreme Court
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Iowa Supreme Court |
2011 - Present |
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Iowa Supreme Court |
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Iowa Supreme Court |
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|
Iowa Supreme Court |
2011 - Present |
Court of Appeals
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Iowa Court of Appeals |
August 12, 2011 - January 14, 2022 |
|
|
Iowa Court of Appeals |
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|
Iowa Court of Appeals |
2011 - July 1, 2024 |
|
|
Iowa Court of Appeals |
April 25, 1996 - July 1, 2019 |
|
|
Iowa Court of Appeals |
September 19, 2013 - 2019 |
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Iowa District Court 1B |
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|
Iowa District Court 1B |
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|
Iowa District Court 1B |
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|
Iowa District Court 1B District Judge |
1985 - June 30, 2020 |
|
|
Iowa District Court 1B District Judge |
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|
Iowa District Court 2B |
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|
Iowa District Court 2B |
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|
Iowa District Court 2B District Judge |
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Iowa District Court 3A |
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Iowa District Court 5A |
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Iowa District Court 5A |
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Iowa District Court 5C |
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|
Iowa District Court 5C |
2016 - 2019 |
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Iowa District Court 5C |
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Iowa District Court 6 |
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Iowa District Court 6 |
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Iowa District Court 7 |
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Iowa District Court 7 |
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Iowa District Court 7 |
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Iowa District Court 7 |
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Iowa District Court 8A |
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Iowa District Court 8A |
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Iowa District Court 8B District Judge |
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|
Iowa District Three |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Iowa
| Judicial selection in Iowa | |
 | |
| Iowa Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Iowa Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Iowa District Courts | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 6 years |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in Iowa, including:
- The Iowa Supreme Court,
- the Iowa Court of Appeals,
- the Iowa District Courts, and
- limited jurisdiction courts
As of April 2025, judges for Iowa's supreme court, court of appeals, and district courts were selected through the assisted appointment method, where the governor selects a nominee from a list provided by a nominating commission. Juvenile court judges were appointed by district judges from a list provided by a nominating commission.
Article V of the Iowa Constitution states that retained judges' terms begin on January 1 after their retention election.
Iowa is relatively unique in that it actively seeks citizen participation in the nomination process. Citizens wishing to nominate a potential judge are asked to submit the candidates' names in writing, along with their opinion of them.[2]
Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[3] |
|---|
|
|
| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[4] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[5] | 1[6] | 17[7] |
State profile
| Demographic data for Iowa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Iowa | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 3,121,997 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 55,857 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 91.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 5.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91.5% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 26.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,183 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Iowa. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Iowa
Iowa voted for the Republican candidate in four out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 31 are located in Iowa, accounting for 15.04 percent of the total pivot counties.[8]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Iowa had 31 Retained Pivot Counties, 17.13 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Iowa coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Iowa
- United States congressional delegations from Iowa
- Public policy in Iowa
- Endorsers in Iowa
- Iowa fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Iowa," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Iowa, Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed September 17, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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
