Image courtesy of Iowa Courts website
Early voting is underway and soon will be Election Day and there is one portion of the ballot that voters may not know much about.
Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn says every two years there are a number of judges that are on the General Election ballot for retention. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio from the Iowa Supreme Court to the Associate District judges are appointed by the governor and, which means they do not have to campaign for the bench, but are then voted by the public whether to either retain or be removed as a judge.
However, Laehn notes that because most people do not know who each judge is within Greene County, the Iowa Bar Association publishes an evaluation review where all prosecutors and defense attorneys answer survey questions related to the judges that they have had in the courtroom. He encourages people to check out that review before casting their ballot. Laehn also suggests asking local law enforcement about their opinions of the judges, specifically the district court judges, because they invest a lot into each investigation and follow their cases through the court proceedings.
“Our officers will know. Our local law enforcement officers will be able to provide insight into how effective I’m being as a prosecutor because I’m also accountable to the public, as well as our judges.”
Laehn points out that not all district court judges are in every county that is included in a judicial district, such as the one Greene County is with, Judicial District 2B, which includes 12 other counties with the farthest counties being Wright, Hardin and Marshall Counties in North Central Iowa.
“Even though that judge only serves in probably a small number of counties. That judges’ docket may include say three or four counties. So the vast majority of the public has never met that judge, has never seen that judge in the courtroom because that judge is never in the courtroom in those counties.”
Laehn believes that because of this issue, it is very difficult to not retain a judge. Click the link below to check out the Iowa Bar Association judicial review.