Judicial officials announce application process to select justices starts Dec. 31

The State Judicial Nominating Commission ended speculation Monday whether Gov. Chet Culver would select three new justices before leaving office with an announcement that applications for nominees won't be taken until Dec. 31.

The commission, who interviews, screens and selects applicants for Iowa Supreme Court justices, will begin taking applications Dec. 13 when the terms end for Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, Justice Michael Streit and Justice David Baker, who lost bids for retention last month.

The 15-member commission has 60 days to send the nominees to Governor-elect Terry Branstad, who will take office Jan. 1 and he will make the appointment.

The deadline for applications is Jan. 14, and the commission will meet the week of Jan. 24 to interview applicants and select a slate of nominees, according to the news release. The meeting schedule and location haven't been determined at this time.

Judicial officials said because there is heightened public interest in the process this year the interview portion of the process will be open to Iowans throughout the state by streaming the interviews on the Internet.

The AP reported Friday that the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission will also open its interview with candidates to the public, which is breaking a longtime tradition of interviewing applicants privately, as Iowa had done since 1962.

Kansas Commission Chairwoman Anne Burke said the action is designed to boost confidence in how Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges are chosen through the merit selection process.

Iowa's merit selection process was approved by voters in 1962 by constitutional amendment. Merit selection is designed to emphasize the professional qualifications of applicants for judicial appointment and minimize partisan politics.

The commission is composed of a chair, who is the senior justice of the court other than the chief justice, seven lawyer commissioners elected by lawyers licensed to practice law in Iowa and seven non-lawyer commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa Senate.

To be eligible for an appointment to the court, a person must be a resident of the state, licensed to practice law in Iowa, and must be of such age that they will be able to serve an initial and one regular term of office before reaching the age of 72. To be most favorably considered for balloting, an applicant must file a letter of intent to file an application with the secretary of the commission by January 10. In addition, an applicant must submit completed application forms to the commission on or before January 14.

Any citizen may submit in writing to the secretary of the commission, or to any commissioner, the names of persons for consideration as a candidate for nomination and express views concerning such candidate. After the application deadline, the commission will release the names of all applicants along with information about each applicant's background, experience, and qualifications. This list and other information about the nominating commission and Iowa's merit selection process will be available on the Iowa Judicial Branch website:

iowacourts.gov.