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Your guide to Iowa's 2024 judicial retention elections

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Your guide to Iowa's 2024 judicial retention elections

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Iowans won't just be voting for presidential and legislative candidates in the November election. They will also decide whether nearly 70 judges, including a Supreme Court justice, will keep their jobs.

Under Iowa law, judges are appointed by the governor but are subject to retention elections, in which voters can vote yes or no on whether they should remain in office.

This year's list includes Supreme Court Justice David May and four Iowa Court of Appeals judges, as well as 64 district and associate judges who will only appear on the ballot for voters in their districts.

District and appellate judges serve six-year terms, while Supreme Court justices serve eight-year terms.

The state judiciary says that elections to fill the position “target the professional competence of Iowa judges” and that it is almost rare for a judge or judge not to be retained.

The significant exception was in 2010, when three Supreme Court justices lost their nominations due to a backlash over the court's decision legalizing same-sex marriage in Iowa.

From 2022: All justices were retained, including two Iowa Supreme Court justices

The Iowa State Bar Association publishes performance reviews of judges up for nomination based on surveys of thousands of member attorneys. This year's report shows that nearly all incumbent judges were once again supported by a majority of respondents, but also shows that the state's legal community's dissatisfaction is growing with Gov. Kim Reynolds' recent appointments to the state's highest courts.

Here are the members of the judiciary who will be on the ballot in November and what the lawyers who practice in their courtrooms have to say about them.

READ: Iowa State Bar Association Judicial Performance Review 2024

David May, Iowa Supreme Court Justice

David May was first appointed as a judge in 2022 and is now standing for his first election as the incumbent. May is the fifth judge appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds since 2018, a period of transition that has changed the composition and perspective of the seven-member court. Before joining the court, May served on the Iowa Court of Appeals.

In the most recent 2023-24 term, May largely joined the rest of the court, now all appointed by Republican governors. His notable decisions include ruling that a mother who left her children at home did not commit a crime and that the Iowa Constitution prohibits victims of child abuse from testifying in court via video. He also joined the 4-3 majority that allowed Iowa's six-week abortion ban to take effect.

In the Iowa Bar Association poll, May received a relatively cool response compared to other recently appointed judges. 65 percent of respondents recommended keeping May in 2022, compared to 77 and 81 percent for colleagues Matthew McDermott and Dana Oxley, respectively.

May also scored lower than Oxley and McDermott on every single quality measured in the survey, from knowledge of the law to temperament and politeness to deciding cases without outside influence.

Related: What's in the upcoming Iowa Supreme Court filing? Pipelines, COVID deaths and more.

Four judges on the Iowa Court of Appeals

The Iowa Intermediate Court of Appeals hears many cases that have not been retained by the Supreme Court, which can then choose to rehear cases decided by the Court of Appeals.

There are four justices up for takeover this year: Tyler Buller, Mary Elizabeth Chicchelly, Samuel Langholz and Chief Justice Mary Ellen Tabor. Tabor was first appointed by Gov. Chet Culver in 2010, while Reynolds appointed Chicchelly in 2021, Buller in 2022 and Langholz in 2023.

Three of the four judges received good marks in the bar association survey. Buller, Tabor, and Chicchelly were recommended for retention by 84%, 94%, and 95% of respondents, respectively, and none scored below 3.9 out of 5 on any given topic.

Langholz, who previously worked directly for Reynolds as senior counsel, received a less enthusiastic endorsement: 64% of respondents recommended him. He also received a score of 3.8 or lower in every single category.

64 district judges in votes across the state

In addition to the appellate judges appearing on ballots statewide, nearly all Iowa voters will have at least some judges from their local judicial district on the ballot.

Most district judges and district judges up for consideration this year were endorsed by 90% or more of the attorneys who preceded them in the Bar Association survey, including four judges who were recommended for consideration by 100% of respondents.

More: Voter Guide 2024

There were some notable exceptions.

Only one judge received support from less than 50% of respondents: Rachael Seymour, a district judge in Des Moines. After his appointment in 2010, Seymour was recommended for retention by 47% of respondents and was the only judge in the state to receive a score of less than 3.0 out of 5 on all counts: Temperament and Conduct: 2.5; speed of decisions, 2.8; avoiding inappropriate personal criticism, 2.7; and politeness, 2.5.

A second judge was narrowly recommended by a majority of respondents: 52% of attorneys recommended retaining Judge Monica Ackley, who has served as a judge or district judge in Dubuque since 1997. Ackley received her lowest grades for “perception of factual issues.” “and make decisions based on facts and laws rather than external influences.

Through the Iowa Attorney General's Office, the Register contacted Seymour and Ackley for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

8 judges are up for retention in Polk County

In addition to Seymour, seven other judges in Judicial District 5C, which includes Polk County, will be on the ballot.

They are District Judges Heather Lauber (86% recommended for retention) and Patrick Smith (95%), as well as Deputy District Judges Gregory Brandt (84%), Kristen Formanek (93%), Becky Goettsch (95%), and Erik Howe (94%), and Associate Probate Judge Katie Ranes (93%).

William Morris covers the Des Moines Register courts. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 715-573-8166.

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