Performance review can inform your judicial retention votes

When you cast your vote in this year’s election, remember to turn the ballot over. This year one of Iowa’s Supreme Court justices is on the ballot, and you can either vote Yes or No to retain him. In addition, if you live in Cedar County, then you are in Judicial District 7 and if you reside in Johnson County, you reside in District 6. In both judicial districts there are some judges on the ballot and up for retention.

I found that one way for me to discern how to vote on these individuals is read the Judicial Performance Review on the Iowa Bar Association’s website.

I was interested in seeing how the judges who are currently up for the retention vote are ranked by other lawyers. At www.iowabar.org, you can find a list of judges on the ballot and you will also see how they are ranked in 14 different categories. These rankings then result in a percentage for each judge. When I observed those percentages for the judges on my ballot, that helped me to decide “yes” or “no” on each individual. I submit that rather than focusing on just one or two decisions that a judge has handed down and which I might disagree with or agree with, this is a better way to leave out my bias and vote on who is performing best. I hope this will help you as you vote this year on judicial retention.

Ellyn Paulus

West Branch