Politicizing Retention of Iowa Judges

by Paul Deaton

“The campaign to ouster three Iowa Supreme Court Justices to protect what some call “traditional family” is based on a Rube Goldberg contraption of logic that defies common sense.“

Who heard of most of the judges listed in the back side of this year's ballots? On our local ballot there were fourteen of them and for everyday citizens who work hard and play by the rules, rarely are they familiar names. In fact, more than a third of people who fill out a ballot do not cast a vote in the judicial retention section.

This year, a conservative group intends to politicize the process and make the three supreme court justices up for retention in the general election better known. The justices, David Baker, Michael Streit and Marsha Ternus woke conservatives by joining the unanimous opinion in Varnum v. Brien in 2009. Some conservatives say say they should not be retained in this year's general election. The three judges have decided to refrain from campaigning.

Iowa for Freedom, headed by three time unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats, recently televised an advertisement that begins, “Activist Judges on Iowa's Supreme Court have become political, ignoring the will of voters…” Last time we checked, what Iowans want is supreme court justices who interpret the law and keep the politics suggested by the “will of voters” out of judicial opinions as much as possible. There is no indication that Baker, Streit and Ternus have done anything but that.

The catalyst for this surge in interest in the supreme court justice election was Varnum v. Brien. The decision affirmed a ruling by a lower court that the Defense of Marriage Act signed by Governor Branstad limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. If one reads the 69 page opinion, what we find is that the justices considered almost every aspect of law related to marriage. That some are unhappy about the decision is not surprising, but no injustice appears to have been done.

Iowa, like 15 other states, uses what is called the “merit system” to select judges. The intent of the “merit system” is to remove judges from politics as much as is possible. Candidate for Governor Terry Branstad has indicated that he would eliminate the merit system and move to the Governor appointing justices and then seeking confirmation in the Iowa State Senate. If Branstad wins in November, it would add another layer of politicization to the judicial appointment process. It is ironic that Branstad appointed two of the three supreme court justices Vander Plaats would ouster.

Iowa for Freedom supports “traditional families.” Current social trends have all families under pressure. The divorce rate for first marriages in the United States is running at about 50%, with divorce rates for second marriages at 67% and for third marriages at 74%. In April 2009, the National Center for Health Statistics announced that nearly 40% of the babies born in the United States in 2007 were born out of wedlock. In the post-Reagan era, there has been a continual assault on the middle class with outsourcing of jobs, low cost manufacturing in Southeast Asia and a government that supports the profitability of corporations, who have an increasingly global footprint, more than citizens. Family life as we may remember it has changed and the change is permanent whether they are “traditional” or normal.

The campaign to ouster three Iowa Supreme Court Justices to protect what some call “traditional family” is based on a Rube Goldberg contraption of logic that defies common sense. Ouster judges we don't like, elect a Governor who will change the rules and appoint conservative activist judges, stack the Senate so conservative activist judges will be confirmed, do this until there are enough conservative activist judges for a majority and have the majority of conservative activist judges make rulings to match the “will of the people.” This process is the essence of making simple tasks overly complex and seems destined to crash and burn.

The Blog for Iowa view: vote to retain the three judges and elect Democrats. Progressives have a better chance of success with this nine word goal than do adherents to the convoluted logic of Vander Plaats. If we retain these judges and elect Democrats, life in society will be better for a middle class that includes progressives and conservatives alike.

~Paul
Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend
editor of Blog for Iowa. E-mail Paul
Deaton