Former Iowa governors urge voters to retain judges

DES MOINES - Two ex-Iowa governors on Sunday urged voters to take a broad overview of Iowa's highly regarded judicial system and study the ramifications before deciding to remove

judges on the basis of

one ruling.

Former Govs. Robert Ray, a Republican, and Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, spoke to reporters via a teleconference organized by Fair Courts For Us. The two expressed concern that the state's merit-selection system is being misrepresented and voters are confused that a vote to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices somehow would reverse the decision that legalized same-sex marriages.

“I think one of the problems that we face is that people have a negative attitude about government right now. They're dissatisfied and unhappy and they're likely to vote no without really thinking it through thoroughly,” Ray said. “This is one of the best systems in the country and to throw somebody out of office because you don't like some opinion is very foolish and I think Iowans are much better thinkers than that, so I hope they don't make that mistake.”

Vilsack, who practiced law for 25 years in Iowa and is currently the U.S. agriculture secretary, said judges in Iowa are selected based on qualifications without regard to political ideology.

“While I may have disagreed with a decision that went against my client, I always knew the judges were approaching these decisions with fairness and trying to weigh the various equities and trying to do justice,” Vilsack said. “I'm concerned about the impact that this vote could have on disrupting the capacity on the courts to handle the enormous volume of cases at every level. What you could have is a substantial breakdown in the judicial system in the state.”

Vilsack said he already has voted in support of the judges on his absentee ballot.

Public opinion polls have shown Iowans are generally split this year on an issue that normally gets little notice. An Iowa Poll published Sunday indicated 37 percent of likely voters say they will vote to remove all three Supreme Court justices in Tuesday's election, while 34 percent say they will vote to keep all three and 10 percent plan to retain some.

Last week, conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats, leader of Iowa For Freedom, predicted a “clean sweep” in the effort to oust Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and associate justices Michael Streit and David Baker.

Vander Plaats has argued that the retention vote was included as part of a 1962 constitutional amendment establishing Iowa's merit-based judicial system to give voters a say in holding “activist judges” in check. He is urging voters to exercise that power by removing the three justices, who participated in the unanimous decision to overturn the state's same-sex marriage ban.

“I think that people may be thinking that by removing these judges that in some way, shape or form that's going to result in a reversal of court decision and that's certainly not the case,” Vilsack added. “These judges reached a unanimous decision based on their interpretation of the constitution of the state of Iowa, which is their job. The one thing we don't want to have is a process which creates a chilling effect on the capacity of judges to decide case impartially. This is no place for politics.”