Two Iowa City attorneys nominated to fill district judge vacancy

CEDAR RAPIDS - Sixth Judicial District Chief Judge Patrick Grady announced two Iowa City attorneys have been nominated by the 6th Judicial Nominating Commission to fill a district judge vacancy.

Chad Kepros, attorney with Bray and Klockau, and Assistant Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith, both of Iowa City, will now go before Gov. Terry Branstad, who will appoint one as the next district judge.

The chosen candidate will replace Judge Stephen Jackson Jr., who is leaving next week to become a U.S. Magistrate in the Southern District of Iowa.

Kepros has been nominated twice before for recent vacancies on the bench. He has been an attorney with Bray and Klockau in Iowa City since 1996, after receiving his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law. He practices in domestic relations and family law. He has trial and appellate experience and also provides mediation and other alternative dispute resolution services.

Zimmermann Smith was an assistant county attorney from 2004 to 2008 and then was in private practice until she rejoined the office in 2010. She also served a summer internship with the office in 2001. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 1999 and her law degree from the UI College of Law in 2002.

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