Johnson County attorney candidate passes bar exam

IOWA CITY - A recent law school graduate who is running for Johnson County attorney has passed the Iowa bar exam, clearing the way for him to practice law.

His level of experience remains a campaign issue, however.

John Zimmerman, of Iowa City, was among the people the Iowa Board of Law Examiners announced Friday had been successful in the February bar exam.

Zimmerman is challenging incumbent Janet Lyness in the Democratic primary election June 3. The winner will go on to the November general election. No other candidate in any party has declared for the race.

Zimmerman, a 46-year-old former pastor, graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in December. He told The Gazette earlier this week, before the bar exam results were in, that experience should not be a major factor in the county attorney election.

He compared it to criticism then-Sen. Barack Obama faced in 2008 when running for president, especially Obama's lack of military experience compared with challenger Sen. John McCain.

'Honestly, in politics, usually when people start talking about experience, they're actually supporting candidates for other reasons,” Zimmerman said.

A difference between county attorney and president of the United States of America is that the former position is related to a specific profession, one that generally requires a formal education and a license to practice.

Zimmerman said county attorney is analogous to other executive positions. He again drew a comparison to the president, saying in the role of commander in chief, the president relies on military leaders to help devise strategies. The Johnson County Attorney's Office, Zimmerman noted, has about a dozen assistant county attorneys.

Lyness, however, said she cannot imagine how someone who has never handled a case on his own as a licensed attorney could understand how to carry out the duties of county attorney.

Lyness has been an attorney for 25 years, became an assistant Johnson County attorney in 1990 and has been the county attorney since 2007. She said in addition to her criminal and civil law experience, she oversees a department with a budget of nearly $3 million and a staff of about 35 people.

'I think it would be extremely, extremely difficult,” she said of serving as county attorney newly out of law school.

Zimmerman must attend a swearing-in ceremony April 28 and take an oath, and then he will be licensed to practice law in Iowa, said Dave Ewert of the Iowa Judicial Branch's Office of Professional Regulation.

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