ISBA FAIR COURTS/JUDICIAL RETENTION TALKING POINTS

Help ensures fair hearing regardless of financial status, gender, ethnic background or political affiliation or connections. Judges rule on cases based on Iowas constitution and laws, not on their personal biases or beliefs or popular opinion. The Iowa Supreme Court has long been a leader in making fair and impartial decisions that ensure that all Iowans are treated equally under the law. Varnum made it clear that every Iowan deserves equal protection under the law. We need to keep partisan politics, out-of-state special interest groups and campaign money out of Iowa courtrooms. Iowa judges are not elected politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes. Diverse viewpoints are common in a democratic society. Iowas fair and impartial courts are where disputes are aired and decided, free from political or religious intervention.

Iowas Fair and Impartial Courts:

A judge makes decisions only after hearing all the evidence, arguments and facts and then applying the law. Free of political influence and popular opinion. Accountable to the constitution, not to political pressure or popular opinion.

Expectations of Our Courts:

Criteria for deciding whether a judge should be retained: - Integrity is the judge honest, upright and committed to the rule of law? - Professional competence does the judge have a keen intellect, extensive legal knowledge and strong writing abilities? - Judicial temperament is the judge respectful, decisive and impartial? - Work ethic does the judge make decisions promptly?

Judging a Judge:

ISBA FAIR COURTS/JUDICIAL RETENTION TALKING POINTS

The ISBA Judicial Performance Survey evaluates these criteria based upon the observations and experiences of lawyers who appear before the judges on the retention ballot. It is available at www.iowabar.org. Personal biographies of the judges are found on the Supreme Court website at www.iowacourts.org.

Judging a Judge:

Iowas system is a key reason why Iowas judges are considered fair and impartial. Although no judicial selection process is perfect or completely free of politics, the process of merit selection and retention elections: - Curbs the influence of political parties and special interest groups - Emphasizes selecting judges based on their qualifications and experience - Gives voters a final say about who serves as a judge through the retention election process - Has been proven to be the most effective way to ensure that a state has fair and impartial courts.

Iowas Merit Selection System:

A YES vote helps keep our courts fair and impartial. Remember to run all the way down the ballot (or turn the ballot over) to vote YES on retention. The retention vote is not about whether you agree with the Varnum decision. Rather the question is whether the judge standing is competent, ethical and works hard to resolve the day-to-day legal issues of Iowans.

Vote YES for retention:

All the judges and justices on the ballot are well qualified and deserve to be retained.