DES MOINES – An Iowa Supreme Court Justice announced his retirement last week.
Iowa Supreme Court Justice Daryl Hecht, Sloan, announced his intention to resign from the supreme court December 13, 2018. Justice Hecht has been hearing oral arguments in Des Moines this adjudicative term while receiving treatment for melanoma in Sioux City and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The court’s adjudicative term began September 4.
Justice Hecht was unable to sit for the November 13 and 14 oral arguments due to the side effects of the treatment he is receiving. After discussions with his family, Justice Hecht determined it was essential for him to commit all of his energy to battling the disease.
Raised on a family farm near Lytton, Iowa, Justice Hecht received his bachelor’s degree from Morningside College in 1974 and his J.D. degree from the University of South Dakota in 1977. He received his L.L.M. degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 2004. Justice Hecht practiced law in Sioux City for twenty-two years before his appointment to the court of appeals in 1999 where he served until his appointment to the supreme court in 2006.
Justice Hecht is a past president of the Iowa Association for Justice. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, the Morningside College Alumni Association, the Woodbury County Judicial Magistrate Nominating Commission, and the Woodbury County Compensation Commission. Justice Hecht served as chairperson for the Iowa Civil Justice Reform Task Force. The task force final report was presented to the Iowa Supreme Court on January 30, 2012. Justice Hecht was also involved in the study of civil justice reform at the national level. He served as a member of the Civil Justice Improvement Committee appointed by the Conference of Chief Justices.
Justice Hecht is married with two daughters and three grandchildren.
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued the following statement on Friday after Iowa Supreme Court Justice Daryl Hecht announced his resignation:
“I am grateful to Justice Daryl Hecht for his nearly 20 years of service to the State of Iowa as an appeals court judge and then Supreme Court justice.
“I respect and support his choice to focus on health amid this battle with cancer. I am sure the decision was not an easy one to make, and I wish him and the entire Hecht family only the best as they turn their full attention to his health.”
