DES MOINES – Sixteen Iowans have applied with the State Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy on the Iowa Court of Appeals that occurred when Judge Gayle Vogel retired on July 1, 2019.
Posted below is the State Judicial Nominating Commission interview schedule for the sixteen applicants. The interview schedule and applications will also be posted on the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission website.
The commission welcomes written comments from the public about the qualifications of any of the applicants. Comments must be submitted to the commission members via email no later than 5:00 p.m. August 2, 2019 at the email addresses on the State Judicial Nominating Commission website and by email to the Secretary of the commission at sjnc@iowa.gov.
The commission will meet Monday, August 5, 2019, in the Iowa Supreme Court Courtroom on the fourth floor of the Judicial Branch Building to interview the applicants for the vacancy. The public is invited to observe the interviews in the courtroom. The interviews will be live streamed and the videos archived on the Iowa Judicial Branch YouTube channel.
Immediately following the interviews, the commission will begin deliberations to select a slate of three nominees from the group of applicants. Once the commission selects its slate of nominees, the commission will forward those names to the governor. The governor will then have thirty (30) days in which to appoint the new judge.
The 17-member commission is composed of, eight commissioners elected by lawyers licensed to practice law in Iowa, and nine commissioners appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. The names of the commissioners are on the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commissions website.
List of Applicants and Interview Schedule for Monday, August 5, 2019:
9:00 a.m. Mary Chicchelly, District Court Judge, Sixth Judicial District, Cedar Rapids
Application
9:20 a.m. Thomas Duff, Attorney, Duff Law Firm, P.L.C., Des Moines
Application
9:40 a.m. Joel Barrows, District Court Judge, Seventh Judicial District, Bettendorf
Application
10:00 a.m. Paul Ahlers, District Associate Judge, Second Judicial District, Fort Dodge
Application
10:40 a.m. Henry Latham II, District Court Judge, Scott County Courthouse, Eldridge
Application
11:00 a.m. Joel Vos, Attorney, Heidman Law Firm, PLLC, Sioux City
Application
11:20 a.m. Gretchen Kraemer, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Johnston
Application
11:40 am. Romonda Belcher, District Associate Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Des Moines
Application
12:40 p.m. Timothy Gartin, Attorney, Hastings, Gartin & Boettger, LLP, Ames
Application
1:00 p.m. Andrew Kahl, Assistant United States Attorney, US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa, Des Moines
Application
1:20 p.m. Molly Weber, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Adel
Application
1:40 p.m. Heather Prendergast, Attorney, Roberts, Steven & Prendergast, P.L.L.C., Denver
Application
2:20 p.m. Julie Schumacher, District Court Judge, Third Judicial District, Schleswig
Application
2:40 p.m. Lisa Reel Schmidt, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Des Moines
Application
3:00 p.m. Craig Nierman, Attorney, Phelan, Tucker, Mullen, Walker, Tucker & Gelman, L.L.P., Iowa City
Application
3:20 p.m. Myron Gookin, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Fairfield
Application
