Appeals court judge retiring after more than three decades on bench

DES MOINES - Iowa Appeals Court Judge Robert Mahan is hanging up his robe this week after more than three decades on the bench.

Mahan, 62, said he came close to retiring last year, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I just wasn't ready to go," Mahan said.

He'll make his retirement official this week after 31 years of service to Iowa's court system.

Mahan's quick climb up the legal ladder began in private practice in Waterloo after graduating from law school at the University of Iowa in 1973. He also served as an assistant Black Hawk County attorney.

Just five short years after earning his law degree, Mahan was appointed to the bench as a district associate judge and rose in the ranks to become a district court judge.

Gov. Terry Branstad tapped Mahan to serve on the Iowa Court of Appeals, Iowa's second-highest court, in 1997.

Mahan said his experience as a trial judge prepared him the most for being on the appellate court. He counts seven first-degree murder trails he presided over - and seven times he sentenced sometime to life in prison.

"It didn't get easier," Mahan said.

Child custody and juvenile cases were among his favorite type to hear because he could decide where a child was going to live.

"I just felt it was easier to go to bed at night knowing this little kid was with somebody where they were going to be safe," Mahan said.

His interest in that area of the law has led to him to teach classes on family and juvenile law at both the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University.

Those who have worked alongside Mahan describe a sense of humanity they say he brings to his legal career. In the formal world of the courts, Mahan liked people to call him "Bob," not "Judge Mahan," which is customary.

Waterloo attorney David Dutton calls Mahan a "brilliant legal mind" who never lost his common touch.

Dutton remembers trying a difficult murder case against Mahan, who was one of the attorneys for the man on trial. Mahan's client ultimately was convicted.

"He was so completely convinced of his client's innocence that I think he vowed he'd never try another criminal case, just because it hurt him so deeply," Dutton said.

Cedar Falls lawyer and former Democratic congressman Dave Nagle remembers Mahan as a judge who was fair and knowledgeable.

"Judges sometimes bring a bias to the courtroom. Bob never did that. He heard each case as it should be, which was as an individual matter," Nagle said.

Mahan, who now lives in Ames, will remain on the appeals court as a senior judge, working a handful of weeks out of the year.

His wife, Janet, retired last year from her job as a school teacher and his retirement will allow them more time to travel, he said. The couple are parents to four daughters and recently welcomed their first grandchild.