A big topic at the State Legislature right now involves judicial nomination procedures, with strong opinions forming on both sides of the argument.

House Republicans have called for reform to the nomination commission selection, and have presented House Study Bill 110. Representative Chris Hagenow, (R) District 19 and House Majority Leader, claims the legislation would give the voters more of a voice in the judicial selection process. “Right now, the majority of the folks that comprise that panel are attorneys that elect themselves, and (it’s) chaired by the Senior Justice on the Supreme Court. And so folks feel that that’s not fair, that attorneys get to have the majority on that panel. And so we’re preserving merit selection, preserving that idea that we do want attorneys in the process to advise, to let the governor know who some qualified people are. But that it’s really not fair to let them have that majority say over the average voter.”

Perry lawyer Mark Powell, with Finneseth, Dalen, and Powell, warns that the legislation puts the state on a slippery slope that he fears would muddy the divide between the legislative and judicial branches of government. He says that Iowa’s current judicial selection system is the envy of many other states, and he emphasizes that the proposed changes would quickly devolve into political maneuvering. “There are a great number attorneys who are not affiliated with a political party that presumably would be removed from the equation, and that’s a shame. Rather than getting attorneys with the best knowledge of the legal areas that a judge needs to have, we may just have, ‘This person has worked diligently in supporting me in my campaign’ being the nominating commissioner. And so I think you’re going to see a real problem with how judges are being selected, and the quality of the courts that we have.”

To hear more about legislative topics, listen to our weekly updates on Monday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program. To hear more from Powell, listen to this Tuesday’s program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.