Lawyers’ review: All 4 appellate judges up for retention should stay

Two Iowa Supreme Court justices and two Court of Appeals judges who are up for retention in the Nov. 8 elections received high enough ratings by lawyers across the state that the Iowa Bar Association recommends voters keep them on the bench in the biennial performance review of judges.

The association earlier this month released its “Judicial Performance Review,” conducted every two years, that provides guidance to voters as they decide whether judges in each district and on the appellate courts should stay on the bench.

Iowa Supreme Court Judicial Performance Review Results by Gazetteonline on Scribd

Sixty-one associate and district judges also are up for retention this year. Thirteen of the state’s 14 judicial districts have at least one judge standing for retention this time.

The two Supreme Court justices up for retention were appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds to the bench in 2020 — Dana Oxley of Swisher, who formerly practiced in Cedar Rapids, and Matthew McDermott of West Des Moines. They are the only two of the seven justices up for retention votes this election cycle.

Oxley received a retention percentage of 81 percent from 227 lawyers and McDermott received 77 percent from 221 lawyers.

This year, the performance evaluation was electronically sent in September to 5,688 active bar members; 1,118 completed it, according to the bar association.

Each judge has a different number of respondents — bar member lawyers — and not all members can evaluate. According to the performance review, the lawyers should have firsthand experience with a judge that provides a professional basis to evaluate performance; or have practiced before the judge or were reasonably familiar with the judge’s work; or were familiar with the judge’s opinions — as in the appellate courts.

The eligible lawyers evaluate the justices and judges on their professional competence, including knowledge of the law, demeanor and temperament, communication skills, timeliness of rulings, clarity and quality of written opinions and impartiality. They are rated on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent).

The lawyers rated Oxley with 4.34 and McDermott with 4.31 for temperament and demeanor; each had 4.11 for perception of factual issues; and Oxley rated 4.29 and McDermott received 4.31 for promptness of rulings and decisions. Those ratings of 4 are considered good — performance is above average.

Under the demeanor portion of the evaluation, the judges are rated on whether they decide cases on the basis of law and fact without being affected by outside influence; are courteous and patient with litigants, lawyers and court personnel; and treat people equally regardless of race, gender, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or disability and demonstrate awareness of the influence of implicit bias. They are rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

The justices’ highest ratings under the demeanor category were for being courteous and patient with litigants, lawyers and court personnel. McDermott rated 4.41 and Oxley rated 4.38.

The appeals judges up for retention are Paul B. Ahlers of Fort Dodge, who was appointed in 2019, and Gina Badding of Carroll, appointed in 2021.

Badding received a retention percentage of 94 percent from 106 lawyers and Ahlers received 89 percent from 176 lawyers.

Ahlers received the highest rating of 4.47 for promptness of rulings and decisions. He also scored high with 4.39 for treating others equally regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or disability and demonstrated an awareness of the influence of implicit bias.

Badding received her highest rating of 4.66 for being courteous and patient with litigants, lawyers and court personnel.

Among the associate district and district judges up for retention, all 61 received high enough percentages to remain on the bench, according to the review.

Of those, six received retention percentages of 100 percent. They include 6th Judicial Associate District judges Valerie Clay and Jason Burns. The 6th comprises Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Tama counties.

The Iowa Judicial Branch also provides an Iowa Voter’s Judicial Directory each election year that contains biographies on each judge up for retention. The directory includes information about each judge’s background, education, career and professional activities.

The retention election started when an Iowa constitutional amendment replaced a partisan process of electing judges with a nonpartisan, merit-based process in 1962.

A commission vets applicants for the positions and then forwards three nominees to the governor, who appoints one. Every judge is up for retention at the next general election after serving a full year. After that, they appear on the ballot near the end of each term. If a judge receives a majority of “yes” votes, he or she stays on the bench.

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