Iowa
Iowa’s highest court is the Iowa Supreme Court. The court has six justices and one chief justice. The justices on the supreme court elect the chief justice by majority vote, and the term of chief justice corresponds with the term of the justice serving in that capacity. (Source: Iowa Supreme Court)
Judicial Selection
The governor appoints an Iowa Supreme Court justice from a list provided by a judicial nominating commission. After at least one year on the court, a justice may stand for an eight-year term in an unopposed yes/no retention vote at the time of Iowa’s next general election. Justices may stand for additional terms in the same retention process. When a seat on the court opens in the middle of a justice’s term, the governor appoints a judicial candidate from a list provided by a judicial nominating commission. There are no term limits. The mandatory retirement age is 72.
State Constitution
Iowa has had two constitutions adopted in 1846 and 1857. As of January 1, 2024, it had 55 amendments. (Source: John Dinan, 2024)
Filters
States, Not the President, Run Elections in America
The administration’s attempts to undermine or interfere with elections run afoul of constitutional delegations of responsibility.
The Extra Hurdle in State Courts to Prove a Statute Violates the U.S. Constitution
Many states require a litigant challenging a statute as violating the U.S. Constitution to prove the statute is unconstitutional “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Book Excerpt: Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy
The U.S. prison system violates democratic social orders aiming to lessen racist and class hierarchies. Its development was not inevitable.
Book Excerpt: Sedition: How America's Constitutional Order Emerged from Violent Crisis
Throughout history, state constitutional drafting has involved failure and violent crisis and has sometimes torn us apart rather than brought us together.
How Will Federal Funding Cuts Impact State Budgets?
Fiscal provisions found in every state constitution constrain states’ ability to work around budget shortfalls.
Case Trends: State Courts Continue to Grapple with Covid-19 Policies
Courts are still weighing the constitutionality of state responses to the pandemic more than five years after its start.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in September
Issues on the dockets include charter schools, minimum wage for live-in caregivers, online arbitration agreements, and a controversial handwritten date requirement for mail ballots.
How Much Do You Know About State Constitutions and Courts?
Learn why state constitutions are so long, which high court is almost completely made up of women, and more.