As Election Day approaches, there are a slate of candidates ranging from the federal level to county seats, along with another group of individuals: Iowa judges.
Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn is a Libertarian and believes the state’s theory of how judges are first appointed to the bench and are periodically up for retention election is the best system for judges in the country. “It ensures that they’re initial appointment isn’t a political process. They don’t go out and campaign, make promises, take donations, all of that could potentially corrupt the administration of justice. But they are, in theory, supposed to be held accountable for their decisions on the bench.”
Laehn points out two ways that the public can hold judges accountable before they choose which judges to retain by November 8th. He says the first way is by talking with local law enforcement.
“Our law enforcement officers literally risk their lives on behalf of the people in our community, and are the ones on the front line fretting out crime, making arrests. They are personally and deeply invested in these criminal cases. They follow them through the court system and they are aware of the outcome of those cases.”
Laehn notes the other way is from a Judicial Performance Review by the Iowa State Bar Association. He says this report is based on all prosecuting and defense attorneys that appear before the list of judges who are up for retention in their respective judicial districts. Laehn feels this is a fair way to assess judges from those that are in the courtroom and evaluate a judges’ performance.
Greene County is part of Judicial District 2B and you can click the link below to access the review.