DES MOINES – Fourteen Iowans have applied with the State Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy on the Iowa Court of Appeals that will occur when Judge Richard Doyle retires on August 7, 2021.
Posted below is the State Judicial Nominating Commission interview schedule for the fourteen applicants. The interview schedule and applications will also be posted on the State Judicial Nominating Commission website at https://www.iowajnc.gov/state-commission.
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 11:59 P.M. on June 22, 2021, at the email addresses on the State Judicial Nominating Commission website and by email to the Secretary of the commission at sjnc@iowa.gov. Please note that any comments provided to the commission members may be subject to disclosure pursuant to Iowa’s Open Records Laws.
The commission will meet Friday, June 25, 2021, 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 until the Governor selects a nominee to fill the vacancy.
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 justice.
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 Friday, June 25, 2021:
9:30 a.m. Heather Prendergast, Attorney, Roberts, Stevens & Prendergast PLLC, Denver
9:50 a.m. Margaret J. Reyes, District Court Judge, Fourth Judicial District, Pacific Junction
10:10 a.m. Romonda Belcher, District Associate Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Des Moines
10:30 a.m. Joel Barrows, District Court Judge, Seventh Judicial District, Bettendorf
10:50 – 11:00 a.m. BREAK
11:00 a.m. Mindy Larson Polberg, Director of Government Relations, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Panora
11:20 a.m. Jean Dickson, Attorney, Betty, Neuman & McMahon PLC, Davenport
11:40 a.m. Jennifer Bailey, District Associate Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Burlington
12:00 p.m. Gina Badding, District Court Judge, Second Judicial District, Carroll
1:00 p.m. William Miller, Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Des Moines
1:20 p.m. Bethany Currie, District Court Judge, Second Judicial District, Marshalltown
1:40 p.m. Lisa Reel Schmidt, Assistant Attorney General, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Des Moines
2:00 p.m. Mary Triick, Attorney, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Clive
2:20 p.m. Tim Gartin, Attorney, Hastings, Gartin & Boettger LLP, Ames
2:40 p.m. Mary Chicchelly, District Court Judge, Sixth Judicial District, Cedar Rapids
