Judges’ decisions based on law and facts, and so should ours

By Brian Fagan and Nick Harper

‘Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain” is proudly emblazoned on The Great Seal of the State of Iowa. Our liberties and rights are enshrined in our state constitution. It is reassuring to read this maxim during an Iowa political season in which we are witnessing an unprecedented campaign.

Iowa chooses judges based on their mastery of law, not their campaigning abilities and political suaveness. We ask about each judge's professional qualifications, such as integrity, competence, temperament, experience and service. This merit-based system has served us well for decades and ensures that Iowa provides justice to everyone equally.

Iowa judges make decisions based on the law. Just as judges are not influenced by special interests and large campaign contributions, our votes on Nov. 2 should not be either.

The system of installing judges in Iowa is a nomination process that holds each judge accountable. A non-partisan committee of lawyers and lay citizens evaluates applicants based on skills and qualities. This committee then submits two or three candidate names to the governor, who appoints one candidate to judgeship. The public periodically votes on all the judges' retention - that is, whether they will return for another term. Judges are held to a high standard of ethical conduct and can be reviewed by the Commission on Judicial Qualifications or impeached by the Iowa Legislature.

This system developed in response to a scandal in 1940, in which the appointment of Missouri's chief justice was found to be politically corrupted through campaigns and elections. Missouri adopted the first merit-based judicial nomination system. Iowa soon followed. Since its birth, the Iowa court system has been nationally recognized as one of the best in the country.

The purpose of the system is to select fair, impartial and competent judges. It ensures equal access to justice and limits political influence on individual cases. We should expect no less from an independent judiciary.

A merit-based system prevents justice from being available only to the highest bidder - special interest campaign contributors - and from overwhelming the democratic voice.

Although a special interest group can spend money to politicize a retention vote to oust a judge, the nomination process prevents it from installing a replacement who is biased toward its agenda.

This system also limits political influence. Judges interpret our constitution and analyze law; they do not consider the whims of politics.

A nationwide poll in 2007 by the Annenberg Center found that partisan judicial elections caused voters to perceive judges to legislate from the bench. Partisan elections also caused voters to believe the courts were less fair.

Become further informed about the judicial retention process and the judges on the ballot at http://Learn

IowaCourts.org

The merit-based system depends on you being informed by facts, not politics.

Brian Fagan of Cedar Rapids is an attorney with Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman P.L.C.; Nick Harper is a University of Iowa College of Law student. Comments: bfagan@simmonsperrine.com and nicholas-harper@uiowa.edu