InIowa, there are two federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Iowa's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Iowa's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also:Iowa judicial elections andJudicial selection in Iowa

Selection of state court judges in Iowa occurs via merit selection. Under the merit system, a nonpartisan commission of Iowans reviews nominees' credentials and then nominates individuals to the governor for final selection. Judges of theIowa Supreme Court,Iowa Court of Appeals, andIowa District Courts are all appointed by the governor with help from anominating commission. For supreme court justices, the state judicial nominating commission nominates three individuals. For court of appeals judges, the state judicial nominating commission chooses five people to nominate. For district judges, district-based nominating commissions nominate two individuals.^[1] This process is also known asgubernatorial appointment with a nominating commission (also referred to as theMissouri Plan). In Iowa, all judicial nominees must be a licensed attorney in the state.^[1]

Newly appointed judges serve for one year after their appointment; they must then compete in a yes-noretention election (occurring during the regularly scheduled general election) if they wish to remain on the court.^[1][2]

Term lengths vary by court, as does the process for selecting thechief justice orjudge. The judges of theIowa Supreme Court serve eight-year terms. The judges of theIowa Court of Appeals andIowa District Courts serve six-year terms.^[3][4]

When a vacancy occurs on the supreme court, the commission submits a list of three potential nominees to the governor, who appoints one to serve as a judge. When a vacancy occurs on the court of appeals, the commission submits a list of five nominees to the governor, who appoints one to serve as a judge. For district court vacancies, the commission submits two potential nominees to the governor, who appoints one to serve as a judge.^[1][5]

To read more about judicial elections in Iowa,click here.

Federal courts

Thefederal district courts in Iowa are the:

• United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

Appeals from these districts go to theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

Active judges

Northern District

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 1
• Republican appointed: 1

Southern District

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 3
• Republican appointed: 0

District map

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by thepresident of the United States and confirmed by theUnited States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, clickhere.

Bankruptcy courts

There are twofederal bankruptcy courts in Iowa. These courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy courts in Iowa are:

• United States bankruptcy court, Northern District of Iowa
• United States bankruptcy court, Southern District of Iowa

State supreme court

See also:Iowa Supreme Court

Iowa Supreme Court
Court Information
Justices: 7
Founded: 1846
Location:Des Moines
Salary
Associates: $201,609[6]
Judicial Selection
Method:Assisted appointment (governor-controlled commission)
Term: 8 years
Active justices
Susan Christensen,Edward Mansfield,David May,Matthew McDermott,Christopher McDonald,Dana Oxley,Thomas Waterman

Founded in 1846, theIowa Supreme Court is the state'scourt of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court isSusan Christensen.As of September 2022, all seven judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.

The state supreme court meets in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building inDes Moines, Iowa.^[7]

In Iowa, state supreme court justices are selected throughassisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges,click here.

The Iowa Supreme Court is an appellate court, hearing appeals from trial courts. They do so by reviewing written records from the trial court to determine whether a significant legal error occurred.^[8] The supreme court is responsible for providing rules for transfer of civil or criminal appeals to the court of appeals. The court is also responsible for prescribing rules for the supreme court to review decisions by the court of appeals.^[9]

The table below lists the current judges of theIowa Supreme Court and the appointing governor.

State court of appeals

See also:Iowa Court of Appeals

TheIowa Court of Appeals, composed of nine judges, is theintermediate appellate court inIowa. The court hears cases assigned to it by theIowa Supreme Court and reviews appeals from the trial courts in the state. Most of the appeals filed in Iowa are heard by the Iowa Court of Appeals, and its decisions are final unless granted further review by theIowa Supreme Court.^[4]

A court of appeals judge serves an initial one-year term following their appointment to the court that ends on January 1 after the next judicial retention election and the expiration of the term. For retained justices, the regular term of office is six years. The mandatory retirement age is 72. A retired justice may serve as asenior judge if the state supreme court assigns them to the post. Every two years, the court of appeals judges elect the new chief judge.^[10]

The following judges sit on the court:

Trial courts

District courts

See also:Iowa District Courts

TheIowa District Courts are trial courts inIowa. There is one district court in each of Iowa's 99 counties. The counties are grouped into eight judicial districts. Each district has a chief judge who is selected by theIowa Supreme Court. District judges have general jurisdiction over civil, criminal, juvenile, and probate matters in Iowa. Associate and magistrate judges have limited jurisdiction.^[11][12]

Rulings of the district court may be appealed to theIowa Supreme Court. Small claims rulings issued by associate or magistrate judges are appealed to a district judge.^[12]

Juvenile court

The juvenile court holds special jurisdiction and authority over certain cases involving the lives of children, including cases of children in need of assistance and delinquency cases.^[13]

In other states

See also

• Judicial selection in Iowa
• Iowa judicial elections

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Iowa Judicial Branch

Footnotes

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