Iowa’s chief appeals judge, ‘strong, collaborative leader,’ retiring

He knows it may sound like a song by ABBA, but Iowa Court of Appeals Chief Judge Thomas Bower looks at his 38-year legal career as people taking a chance on him as he went from arguing cases as a prosecutor to making rulings as a judge that would impact future opinions.

“So many people took a chance on me or gave me a chance,” Bower told The Gazette last week during an interview.

As he is set to retire July 1, he humbly reminisced about his career while sitting in a Black Hawk County courtroom where he spent many hours as a prosecutor and district court judge before being appointed to the appellate court in 2012.

“I started out as a prosecutor in the basement of this courthouse when I got out of Drake University Law School in 1987,” Bower, 63, of Cedar Falls, said. “I had a new baby and wife of three years.”

He credits his wife, Amy, with being the most important person who took a chance on him, back in high school. They married in college and have been together 40 years so far.

As an assistant Black Hawk County prosecutor, he described himself as “moderately aggressive” but realized that “everyone has a story — a life story — and what I was seeing was a small part of that life.”

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“I honestly believe that 99 percent of people are good. Sometimes, good people do bad things but just because you do something bad doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. I always tried to take some of those things into account,” he said. But, ”Sometimes, you can’t like in the cases of murders, sexual assault and armed robberies.”

Bower initially had “no desire to be in a courtroom.” He grew up in Normal, Ill., as a “latch key” kid because his single mom — the first nurse practitioner in Illinois — was always working late and he watched television cop shows like “Adam 12” and “Dragnet.”

He thought about going into corrections, but then his older brother went law school. So he followed. He had the chance to argue cases during a Polk County Attorney’s Office internship and was hooked.

Becoming a judge

“Two judges, Robert Mahan and Jim Bauch, back in 1993, encouraged me to be a district associate judge,” said Bower, who was 32 at the time. “And I kind of thought about being a judge someday but didn’t think I was smart enough. I did have common sense, though. You know, you have self-doubt. My wife says I’m the most outwardly confident, most inwardly insecure person she’s ever known.”

Bauch, a retired appeals and district court judge, said Bower was “hard working and conscientious” as a prosecutor and as a judge. Bower was well-prepared for his cases and has a “wonderful and open demeanor and was fair as a judge.”

“I hate to see him leave the court, but I know he wants to spend more time with his family,” Bauch said.

Iowa Court of Appeals Senior Judge Mike Mullins said Bower is a “great judge” because he is humble and cares. He goes out of his way to show his fellow judges and staff members, who he doesn’t see regularly, that he appreciates their work and cares about them.

Bower, as an appeals judge, sends out notifications for each court staffer’s work anniversary and writes “snippets about them, congratulating and thanking them for their service,” Mullins said.

“We called ourselves the ‘out-of-towners’ when we had to come to Des Moines for court and stayed over in a hotel,” Mullins told a reporter last week. “When we went out for dinner, Tom started buying bread pudding to take back to the hotel night staff to show his appreciation. It became a regular tradition.”

During his time as a district judge, Bower helped the First Judicial District develop one of the first drug courts in 2006 and was the judge over the court for 10 years. Other drug courts followed its lead, and now there nine others across Iowa.

He also helped the district start a domestic violence court and a mental health court in 2009. But the mental health court lost funding and didn’t continue.

Bower said being involved with the drug court was a rewarding experience because he got to see the difference it made in the participants’ lives. It was his chance to “pay it forward” and take chances on others.

He also had interest in the prevention of domestic violence and child abuse and spoke about the issues nationally. Bower said he had friends who were exposed to violence. And growing up with a single mom, he was “exposed to the inequities of being a woman.”

Appeals court

He had applied twice to be appointed to the appeals court and thought he “was done.” But when he got a notification of a vacancy in 2011, he told his wife he would try again.

Then-Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Bower first to the district court and then to the appeals court in January 2012.

Nine judges serve on the appeals court, which reviews appeals from trial court decisions that have been transferred by the state Supreme Court. Its decision is final unless reviewed by the Supreme Court. Bower earns a base salary of over $175,000 a year.

“Chief Judge Bower was a strong, collaborative leader since he was first appointed to the bench more than 30 years ago,” Iowa Supreme Court Justice Susan Christensen told The Gazette.

“He led efforts to bring successful treatment courts to Waterloo, he was selected chief judge of his judicial district, and was selected to lead the court of appeals by his fellow judges. I greatly appreciated his abilities, support, and collegiality when I became chief justice in the midst of the pandemic four years ago and he has been a strong ally ever since.”

Bower said he couldn’t point to just one ruling as having made a big impact during his career because they all were significant. The judges are writing for the litigants, the bar and the lower courts to “help everyone do their jobs better.”

“People are behind the name on the docket and this is the most important case to them,” Bower said. “We owe them our attention and time. Sometimes, we get it wrong and make mistakes. At home, I’m wrong all the time,” he said, laughing.

Based on his 38-year legal career, Bower was asked by a reporter if he had any concerns about how the court is viewed these days and if he worried about politics influencing the independence of the courts.

Bower said over the last several years, nationally and in the state, he has become concerned about how some don’t seem to remember there are three equal but separate branches of government — and one branch is the courts. There are expectations that court rulings should favor Democrats or Republicans, but Iowa in the past has had a good mix of each, which he believes makes everyone better.

“It’s also troublesome that people are taking away from the independence of the courts through legislation or expecting us, and some are, giving up their independence,” he said. “That bothers me. It’s worrisome.”

Bower also remains concerned about public access to the courts. There still is a lack of lawyers in small communities. Some don’t have a lawyer in town for such things as protective orders in sexual assaults and domestic violence situations. Or residents may have a probate issue and need a will to protect their property and assets.

Retiring early

Bower, who was elected twice by his colleagues as chief judge, said he is retiring early for a few reasons, but mostly to spend more time with his family. He has two sons, and a 21-month-old grandson.

He plans to take senior status on the court, working a minimum of 13 weeks a year, which will allow him to continue doing public service and also spend time with his family and travel.

“I’ve been doing this (being a judge) for 31 years and love it but I want to enjoy the time I have left. Always had people tell him, ‘You’ll know when it’s time.’ It’s time.”

The State Judicial Nominating Commission earlier this week nominated five judges to replace Bower on the court: Jeffrey Bert of Bettendorf; Alan Heavens of Garnavillo; Amy Moore of Ames; John Sandy of Spirit Lake; and Shawn Showers of Washington.

The governor has 30 days to appoint a new judge.

A public ceremony will be 3 p.m. June 13 in honor of Bower’s retirement. The ceremony will be in the Iowa Supreme Court courtroom in the Iowa Judicial Branch building in Des Moines.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com