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Applicants for opening on Iowa Court of Appeals

April 27, 2011 by

Twenty-six individuals have applied for the opening on the Iowa Supreme Court. That opening was created when Governor Branstad appointed Appeals Court Judge Edward Mansfield to the Iowa Supreme Court on February 23, 2011. 

Read the 26 names.  The wife of State Auditor Dave Vaudt is among the applicants.  One of the six who were nominated in January but not chosen in February to serve on the Iowa Supreme Court applied.  The one of the six would be Michael Mullins, a district court judge from Washington, Iowa.

Filed Under: Politics, State Government Tagged With: ,

Articles of impeachment against four justices

April 22, 2011 by

Five Republicans in the Iowa House filed resolutions yesterday, outling articles of impeachment against four justices on the Iowa Supreme Court.  Here’s the Radio Iowa story.

Here’s the text of one of the resolutions — the one that would apply to Mark Cady, the author of the Varnum v Brien decision, who is now chief justice of the court:

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 48

BY SHAW , ALONS , DE BOEF , MASSIE , and PEARSON

A Resolution impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady for malfeasance in office.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady is impeached for malfeasance in office, and that the following  article of impeachment be exhibited and presented to the Senate:  That Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady in violation of his constitutional oath undertaken before taking office to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa, has committed malfeasance in office through his action to sanction marriage between persons of the same sex in the Varnum v. Brien, 763 N.W.2d 862 (Iowa 2009), ruling issued on April 3, 2009, by the following conduct: 

ARTICLE I By unconstitutionally exercising functions properly belonging to the legislative and executive departments as follows: (1) By his action in the Varnum case, Chief Justice Cady improperly assumed the function and role of an elected legislator by ordering that the language in Iowa Code section 595.2 limiting civil marriage to a man and a woman must be stricken from the statute as enacted by the legislative department and approved by the governor of the executive department in 1998. (2) By his action in the Varnum case, Chief Justice Cady knowingly and intentionally usurped the proper function delegated solely and exclusively to the legislative department of declaring public policy, through his judicial declaration of a new public policy contrary to long-standing public policy acknowledged by society and established in Iowa Code section 595.2, subsection 1. (3) By his action in the Varnum case, Chief Justice Cady has improperly required the executive department to issue marriage licenses to parties of the same sex in direct contravention of Iowa Code section 595.2. (4) By his action in the Varnum case, Chief Justice Cady has created a constitutional crisis regarding the enforcement of the Varnum ruling by allowing different interpretations of the definition of marriage to exist indefinitely within the separate departments of government, leaving the people with no immediate remedy to address this crisis. (5) By his action in the Varnum case, Chief Justice Cady has created a constitutional imbalance and confusion within the State of Iowa as to the proper constitutional function of each department, thus undermining the integrity of the tripartite separation of powers among the departments and creating social disorder and unrest. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE, That the conduct of Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady, in committing malfeasance in office, warrants impeachment, trial by the Senate, and removal and disqualification from any office of honor, trust, or profit under the state pursuant to the procedures set out in Iowa Code chapter 68. 

Late last night, the top Democrat in the Iowa House (who is an attorney) issued the following:

STATEMENT FROM HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY ON REPUBLICAN IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTIONS

“I issue the following challenge to Speaker Paulsen and Majority Leader Upmeyer on the proposed impeachment of the remaining Supreme Court Justices…either publicly condemn your own Republican members as well as members of the Republican Party for offering this outrageous, extremist proposal…or allow a full and open impeachment proceeding for all Iowans to consider knowing House Democrats will use every available procedural tool to shut down the Iowa House and defeat this right-wing effort.

I suspect, however that the House Republican Leadership will do neither and instead remain cowardly silent.  If that is true, then let it be clear to all Republicans where the House Republican Leadership truly stands on this issue.”

 This morning, House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (who is a lawyer)  issued a statement:

Paulsen Issues Statement on Impeachment Resolutions

(DES MOINES) – House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) issued the following statement regarding the impeachment resolutions which were recently filed:

“While I agree with much of the reasoning behind the impeachment resolutions, I disagree with this remedy.  I do not expect it to be debated on the floor of the House and if it is, I will vote no.

“House Republicans remain focused on reducing government spending and lowering taxes for Iowa families and small businesses.”

In January, House Judiciary Committee chairman Richard Anderson, a Republican from Clarinda who is a lawyer, said there wasn’t enough support among House Republicans to advance articles of impeachment.

In mid-December, Representative Tom Shaw (R-Laurens) and two other newly-elected Republicans in the Iowa House started talking about filing the articles of impeachment.  Last night, Shaw told me they waited ’til now to file the resolutions outlining the proposed articles of impeachment because they wanted to ensure the language was right.  The three rookie House members — Shaw, Glen Massie of Des Moines and Kim Pearson of Pleasant Hill — co-sponsored the resolutions along with two GOP veterans in the House — Dwayne Alons of Hull and Betty De Boef of What Cheer.

The process of impeaching the justices in Iowa starts in the House, where articles of impeachment — in the form of a resolution — would have to pass the 100-member House.  The matter then would go to the Iowa Senate.  After the regular legislative session adjourns, the Senate would reconvene and hold a trial.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics, State Government Tagged With: ,

Judge Moore “exploring” presidential bid

April 18, 2011 by

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is in the midst of a six-day, 25-city swing through Iowa and he’s filing the paperwork today for an exploratory committee for a presidential campaign.

Moore, who is 64 years old, says his natural base of support will come from the Tea Party, from Christian voters and from voters who want to adhere to constitutional principles.  Moore also expects to win support from Iowans who voted last fall to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices who had joined in the court’s unanimous 2009 ruling on gay marriage.  ”This is a natural group of people who want to stand for family values, want to stand for something that is so common sense it defies imagination — the marriage of one man and one woman,” Moore said.  “…When judges start making up the law, they should be removed.”

Moore was in Iowa last summer, campaigning against the retention of those three Iowa Supreme Court justices.  He was in Iowa earlier this year, serving as the keynote speaker at a statehouse rally organized by Iowans who want a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage here. 

Moore says losing in the past two statewide elections in Alabama (see info below about those races) has no bearing on his ability to win a national race.  ”You don’t run by winning or losing.  You don’t know many politicians that have not lost an election,” Moore said.  “…Abraham Lincoln lost many elections…Ronald Reagan lost the first time he ran…for president….I’ve won elections.  I became the first elected Republican judge in Etowah County in modern history and since then, no other (Republican) judge has been elected…And when I went to chief justice, I won without a run-off in the primary.  Elections are just things that you run and, you know, take what the voters say, but I have had more of a national inclination…I’ve spoken for 15 years across the country and dealing with the Constitution of the United States and dealing with things that pertain to issues of constitutional import and so I think it’s time to bring those issues to light in a national debate.”

Moore opposes the Obama Administration’s move to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the U.S. military and the organization he now leads — The Foundation for Moral Law — filed a brief in support of the Defense of Marriage Act. “Having served in the military…I know that homosexuality is not condusive to the military mission and I have no qualms about that.  I’ve seen it and felt it and experienced it and we’ve got to wake up to reality, ” Moore said early in an interview with Radio Iowa (me) and The Des Moines Register this morning. “Common sense dictates this.”

Later, Moore was asked what he meant by having felt and experienced the impact of homosexuality in the military.

“You had mentioned that while you were in the military, you did experience some problems,” Jennifer Jacobs of The Des Moines Register said. “Can you describe that? What do you mean by that?”

Moore replied: “No, no, I didn’t say — I didn’t experience problems.”

“You witnessed some problems in the military?” Jacobs asked.

“With discipline, with homosexuality, with other things, yes –with the views of the military soldiers toward that,” Moore said.

“How their views somehow impeded the readiness of the military, is that what you mean?” Jacobs asked. 

“Well, their acceptance of open homosexuality in the military was not there,” he said.  “…Of course it’s always affected the military. It has affected the military since Washington excluded homosexuals out of the military back during his day.”

Moore is being escorted around the state by former state Representative Danny Carroll, a Republican from Grinnell who is a lobbyist for The Family Leader.  Carroll supported former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in the 2008 Caucuses and was co-chair (along with Bob Vander Plaats) of Huckabee ’08 in Iowa.

“What impresses me and a lot of other people that we talk to — you hear a lot of people talk about the courage of their convictions, seldom do you find someone who is willing to sacrifice their position as the sitting chief justice of a state supreme court because he was asked by a higher authority to no longer acknowledge God,” Carroll said. “…He has demonstrated in real life actions the courage of his convictions. That’s impressive.”

In 2001 Moore drew national attention for installing a monument to the Ten Commandments in Alabama’s courthouse. A federal court ordered that monument removed. After Moore refused to do so, Alabama’s judicial ethics panel booted Moore from that state’s high court in 2003.  Moore ran for governor of Alabama in 2006 and lost in the G.O.P. Primary and in 2010 he got about 19 percent of the vote in Alabama’s gubernatorial primary, finishing in fourth place.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics, State Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Prepping for Round II

April 15, 2011 by

A new group called Focus on Iowa’s Future has formed.  It’s made up of people who were on the losing side of last year’s judicial retention vote.  The group has just posted a video online.  It features Bob Vander Plaats, the man who spearheaded the successful campaign to oust the three Iowa Supreme Court Justices who were up for retention last fall.  The opening headline: “extremists are attacking our court system.”   If you watch, you’ll hear the name “Newt Gingrich” a lot from Vander Plaats.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics, State Government Tagged With: ,

Unpaid lawyer asks judge to excuse him from case

April 14, 2011 by

George Jones, a lawyer from Lamoni, Iowa, was assigned to represent a client who has been charged with a crime but could not afford his own attorney.  The state, as you may know, hasn’t been paying attorneys, court reporters and investigators who work on cases for indigent clients.  The money for the state’s indigent defense program ran out weeks ago. Legislators and the governor have been unable to strike a deal to pay the overdue legal bills because the issue is tied up with another, unrelated matter — a ”Taxpayers Relief Fund” that Republicans want.

Jones filed the motion below, asking to be relieved of his duty in the case because the state hasn’t paid his bills. (The name of his client has been redacted, as have a few other items that would identify the case or witnesses).  Jones indicated in an email to Rep. Kurt Swaim (D-Bloomfield) that similar motions were filed in South Carolina a few years ago when a similar situation cropped up in that state.  

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature, Politics, State Government Tagged With:

Gingrich on “Iowa Press” tonight

March 25, 2011 by

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is the guest on this weekend’s edition of “Iowa Press” on Iowa Public Television.  It airs at 7:30 tonight and 11:30 a.m. Sunday.  After the show, Gingrich addressed the charge that he’s flip-flopped on Libya.  (P.S. There’s audio there if you follow that link, so you can listen to NG himself.)

During the program, Gingrich presented himself as the candidate of ideas who can best match wits with President Obama in the presidential debates of October, 2012.  (See more about that below) Gingrich suggested he hadn’t been ready to run in ’08 because his idea factory hadn’t churned up enough stuff, but he hinted he’s poised to make a “positive announcement” about his presidential aspirations in four or five weeks.  Gingrich mentioned recent visits to states like South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa — which hold the first contests in the 2012 primary election cycle – ”basically testing the waters…and so far the waters are pretty warm.  I feel pretty good about this…I think it’s fair to say that we’re a lot closer to running than not running at this stage.”

Gingrich also addressed the topic of his marital history. 

AP reporter Mike Glover: “You’ve been married three times. You’ve had messy divorces.  You’re campaigning in a state where the Republican Party is dominated by Christian conservatives. How do you get past that?”

Gingrich: “I think you don’t get past that.  I think you tell the truth and I think you share your life’s experiences and you admit that you’ve had weaknesses and that you’ve had failures and you’ve gone to God to seek forgiveness and to seek reconciliation and then people make a decision. And they look at the totality of my life. I’m 67.  Callista and I have a great marriage. We have two wonderful daughters. We have two grandchildren who are terrific and people have to decide, on balance, am I a person that they would respect and trust in the White House.”

Gingrich said you don’t have to be likeable to win the presidency — he cited Nixon as an example– and when questioned about what qualifies one to be president, he cited Lincoln and Eisenhower as examples of successful presidents because they had, in Gingrich’s assessment, core beliefs.

He restated his support of corn-based ethanol fuel toward the end of the show and said there were no strings attached to his six-figure contribution to last fall’s effort to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices in the 2010 judicial retention election.  Gingrich added he would be willing to support an effort to oust the four justices who remain on the court who joined in the unanimous 2009 opinion which legalized gay marriage in Iowa.

At the beginning of the show, Gingrich addressed the idea voters may be looking for a “fresh face” in 2012.  Neat the end, he addressed this:

Radio Iowa news director O. Kay Henderson (me): “Given the propensity of Americans to like to promote a state-leve chief executive — a governor, given the desire of some part in your party to nominate a business person or someone with a business background, is it wise to nominate a former professor who ‘s an author to run against a former professor who’s an author?”

Gingrich: “Well, it depends on whether or not you think winning the debates in October matters.  I mean it strikes me that going up against Barack Obama is going to come down to what Margaret Thatcher used to say when she said that, ‘First you win the argument, then you win the vote.” 

Gingrich continued that thought, saying the GOP has to nominate someone who ”philosophically and practically can be on the same stage” with Obama.  “I think you could see a Gingrich versus Obama range of choices that would be very wide,” he said.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics, State Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

Listen to Cain, Bachmann, Paul in Iowa (AUDIO)

March 23, 2011 by

Three potential 2012 presidential candidates spoke over the noon-hour at a rally on the steps of the Iowa statehouse.  The crowd of home-schooling parents and their children cheered the trio, despite the chilly weather.

Listen to former Godfather’s CEO Herman Cain, who spoke first.

Listen to Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who spoke second.

Listen to Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who spoke last.

Cain was brief, speaking for about four minutes and promising the crowd he’d tell the rest of the story at an event later this afternoon.  Bachmann spoke for 25 minutes, stressing her Iowa roots.  “It’s great to be in Iowa.  Is there any other place?” Bachmann said at the beginning, laughing.  “…I come to you, first of all, as an Iowan….I’m a seventh-generation Iowan…What I love about Iowans is that we’re fighters.  We’re fighters.  We don’t take no for an answer.”  She was the only one of the three to specifically mention last fall’s judicial retention vote in which three Iowa Supreme Court Justices were voted off the bench.

Bachmann stressed her background as a home-schooling mom. Paul also talked extensively about home-schooling.  ”The public school now is a propaganda machine. They start with our kids even in kindergarten, teaching ‘em about family values, sexual education, gun rights, environmentalism, and they condition them to believe in so much that is totally un-American,” Paul said during his 11-minute speech.

UPDATE:  here’s the Radio Iowa story about this event.

Filed Under: Congress, Iowa Caucuses, Politics, State Government Tagged With: , , ,

Ralph Reed @ Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition event

March 7, 2011 by

Ralph Reed, the founder of the national Faith & Freedom Coalition, spoke to the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition crowd about the three Iowa Supreme Court justices who were voted off the bench in November’s judicial retention election.  Reed said the three justices had “refused to honor the traditional institution of marriage and we’re not done yet.”  The other four justices who signed onto the unanimous Varnum decision which paved the way for gay marriages in Iowa are still on the court.  Those justices are on the ballot in future retention elections.  Three new Republican members of the Iowa House have suggested those four justices should be impeached.

Reed’s brief, but pointed comment on this topic is interesting as a competing group representing Iowa conservatives — The Family Leader — has been more focused on the gay marriage issue than the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition.  And The Family Leader’s new president is Bob Vander Plaats, chair of the 2010 campaign to unseat the three justices.

Without naming Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels by name, Reed also blasted the “truce” on social issues Daniels had suggested might best serve the Republican Party in 2012 when economic issues seem to be paramount with voters.  (Daniels, a prospective presidential candidate, is NOT here this evening.)  “I’d like to have a leader that can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Reed said.

Filed Under: Politics, State Government Tagged With: ,

Branstad names Waterman, Mansfield, Zager to Iowa Supreme Court

February 23, 2011 by

Just announced…first of Branstad’s picks for the three openings on the Iowa Supreme Court:

Branstad names Thomas Waterman to the Iowa Supreme Court

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad today at 2 p.m. appointed Thomas Waterman to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Gov. Branstad selected Waterman from the slate of nine candidates given to him by the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission. By law, the governor is only allowed to choose justices from this list.

“It is the role of the judiciary in the state of Iowa to say what the law is, as applied to cases before the courts, rather than saying what the law should be,” said Branstad. “The separation of powers is central to our Iowa Constitution.”

Branstad said Waterman, of Pleasant Valley, brings private sector experience to the Supreme Court.

“My goal was to choose Supreme Court justices, from the available slate of candidates, who are most likely to faithfully interpret the laws and Constitution, and respect the separation of powers,” said Branstad.

Branstad names Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Edward Mansfield to the Iowa Supreme Court

(DES MOINES) –Gov. Terry E. Branstad today at 2:05 p.m. appointed Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Edward Mansfield to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Gov. Branstad selected Judge Mansfield from the slate of nine candidates given to him by the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission. By law, the governor is only allowed to choose justices from this list.

“It is the role of the judiciary in the state of Iowa to say what the law is, as applied to cases before the courts, rather than saying what the law should be,” said Branstad. “The separation of powers is central to our Iowa Constitution.”

Branstad said Judge Mansfield, of Des Moines, brings both private practice experience and Court of Appeals knowledge to the Supreme Court.

“My goal was to choose Supreme Court justices, from the available slate of candidates, who are most likely to faithfully interpret the laws and Constitution, and respect the separation of powers,” said Branstad.

Branstad names Iowa District Court Judge Bruce Zager to the Iowa Supreme Court

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad today at 2:10 p.m. appointed Iowa District Court Judge Bruce Zager to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Gov. Branstad selected Judge Zager from the slate of nine candidates given to him by the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission. By law, the governor is only allowed to choose justices from this list.

“It is the role of the judiciary in the state of Iowa to say what the law is, as applied to cases before the courts, rather than saying what the law should be,” said Branstad. “The separation of powers is central to our Iowa Constitution.”

Branstad said Judge Zager, of Waterloo, brings both private practice experience and District Court knowledge to the Supreme Court.

“My goal was to choose Supreme Court justices, from the available slate of candidates, who are most likely to faithfully interpret the laws and Constitution, and respect the separation of powers,” said Branstad.

Filed Under: Politics, State Government Tagged With: ,

Branstad on endorsement, campaign cash from potential jurists (AUDIO)

February 7, 2011 by

Governor Terry Branstad had his weekly news conference this morning and joked with reporters that he wished more than just one of the nine people who’ve been nominated to be Iowa Supreme Court Justices had donated to his 2010 campaign.  He also addressed criticism after it was disclosed his grandchild is enrolled in free preschool.  Read all about it (and listen to the entire news conference) here.

Branstad also addressed a recent David Broder column in which Broder counted Branstad as a backer of former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s bid for the White House.  From that February 3, 2011 column: 

…An exceptionally skilled politician, Branstad is generally counted in the Pawlenty camp. His support is the main reason Pawlenty is given a chance in the leadoff caucuses – even against Huckabee, the surprise 2008 winner in Iowa; Romney, who has invested heavily in organizing the state; and perhaps others, including Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.

Branstad said this morning he hasn’t endorsed anyone and was “flabbergasted” to read what Broder wrote.  Branstad also discussed the potential threat of straw polls being held in Illinois and Florida before the Iowa Caucuses.  You can listen to his remarks about these subjects here.

Filed Under: Iowa Caucuses, Politics, State Government Tagged With: , , , , ,
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