Nancy L. Whittenburg
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Nancy L. Whittenburg is a judge of District 3A of Iowa. She was appointed to this position in 2004, and retained in 2012 for a term that expires in 2018.[1]
Education
Whittenburg received her bachelor's and J.D. degrees from Drake University in 1980 and 1986, respectively.[1]
Career
Whittenburg began her legal career in 1988 as a private practice lawyer. She became a Clay County magistrate in 1989 and worked in this capacity until 2004.[1]
2012 election
Whittenburg was retained in the general election on November 6, winning 77.79% of the vote.[2][3]
- See also: Iowa judicial elections, 2012
Noteworthy cases
Judge Whittenburg approves visitation rights for mother convicted of murder
Judge Whittenburg ruled, in September of 2012, that Michael Roberts must take his children to visit their incarcerated mother, Tracy Richter, and may not move his family out of the country until her appeals are exhausted. Richter, Roberts's ex-wife, was convicted of the 2001 murder of Dustin Wehde and is being held in Mitchellville, Iowa. Reports say she shot Wehde several times at her home while her kids were in another room of the house. Roberts has since moved with his children, now 12 and 14-years-old, to California.
Whittenburg stated that Roberts's contact with his ex-wife was "not consistent with the duties imposed on a joint legal custodian." Pointing to a positive relationship between the children and their mother, as well as the need for closure, she ordered that Roberts take the kids to visit their mother three times while she appeals her conviction. Additionally, Roberts was not allowed to move his family back to Australia, as he hoped to do, until Richter's appeal was finished.
Prosecutor Ben Smith, disagreed with the judge's ruling, arguing that Richter "should have lost any and all rights to make those kinds of decisions or to have an influence in her kids' lives when she executed somebody."[4][5]
See also
External links
- Iowa Judicial Branch, "District 3"
- Daily Mail Online, "Female judge rules US father must still take his children to visit their convicted murderer mother in jail...," September 13, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Iowa Judicial Branch, "District 3," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Unofficial General Election Results: District 3A"
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Judges Standing for Retention 2012"
- ↑ CBS News, "Judge: Mom convicted in Iowa slaying must see kids," September 13, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ KCCI News 8, "Father appeals order for kids to visit inmate," October 10, 2012
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
