Remaining justices should feel no obligation to resign

By The Sioux City Journal

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First Bob Vander Plaats said three Iowa Supreme Court justices who faced retention votes in November should be removed because of the court's 2009 decision legalizing gay marriage in the state, then he led a successful effort to accomplish his goal. After the election, Vander Plaats warned Gov. Chet Culver he shouldn't fill those three vacancies on the court if recommendations reach his desk before his term ends. This week, Vander Plaats issued a new decree: The four justices who remain on the state Supreme Court should step down.

Here's our question: Who does Vander Plaats think he is?

During a news conference on Tuesday, Vander Plaats said the rest of the justices should resign because Iowans “... have spoken ...” on the subject of the court's gay marriage ruling. We would remind Vander Plaats the people of Iowa also spoke when they rejected his candidacy for governor or lieutenant governor in three different elections. In other words, Iowans have not voted Vander Plaats into any position of authority in the state.

The four justices who remain on the court should feel no obligation to step down simply because their colleagues were defeated in their candidacies for retention. To state otherwise would be like saying President Obama should resign because his fellow Democrats lost the House.

We have a retention process in place for judges in our state through which each of the four justices left on Iowa's high court will face a vote of Iowans of his own in the future. Vander Plaats embraced this process to his full advantage prior to elections last month. Moving forward, he should afford it a similar measure of respect.