Iowa Supeme Court attacks baseless and reckless, former justices say
from The Iowa Independent
The effort to oust the three Iowa Supreme Court justices up for retention vote this fall, along with calls by some to replace Iowa’s merit based system for judicial appointment with partisan elections, “reflect a fundamental misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the role, responsibilities and authority of judges in the interpretation and application of the Iowa Constitution,” three former state Supreme Court justices wrote Sunday in The Des Moines Register.
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices Michael Streit and David Baker are up for retention votes on the Nov. 2 ballot. They are targeted for defeat in an effort organized by Bob Vander Plaats, a three-time former GOP gubernatorial hopeful who says the court’s ruling last year legalizing same-sex marriage is grounds for the judges to be voted out.
Former Justices Robert Allbee, Linda Neuman and Mark McCormick defended the decision and the court that made it.
