DES MOINES – Eighteen Iowans have applied with the State Judicial Nominating Commission to fill the vacancy on the Iowa Court of Appeals arising from the retirement of Chief Judge Thomas Bower.
Posted below is the State Judicial Nominating Commission interview schedule for the applicants. The interview schedule and applications with writing samples will also be posted on the State Judicial Nominating Commission website at https://www.iowajnc.gov/state-commission/state-members-and-vacancies.
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 May 23, 2024, 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 Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 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 five 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 Wednesday, May 29, 2024:
9:00 a.m. Karen Kaufman Salic, District Associate Judge, Second Judicial District, Goodell
9:20 a.m. Aaron Ahrendsen, Attorney, Eich Werden Steger & Ahrendsen PC, Assistant Carroll County Attorney, Manning
9:40 a.m. Heather Quick, First Assistant Federal Public Defender, Appellate Chief, Iowa Federal Public Defender’s Office, Cedar Rapids
10:00 a.m. Amy Moore, District Court Judge, Second Judicial District, Ames
10:20 a.m. Jeffrey Farrell, District Court Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Urbandale
10:40 a.m. BREAK
10:50 a.m. Jeffrey Bert, District Court Judge, Seventh Judicial District, Bettendorf
11:10 a.m. Christopher Spencer, Attorney, Peddicord Wharton LLP, Des Moines
11:30 a.m. David Faith, District Court Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Indianola
11:50 a.m. Thomas Mayes, General Counsel, Iowa Department of Education, Des Moines
12:10 p.m. LUNCH
1:00 p.m. John Gish, Chief, Victim Assistance Section, Iowa Attorney General’s Office, Adel
1:20 p.m. Adam Witosky, Attorney, Gribble, Boles, Stewart & Witosky Law, West Des Moines
1:40 p.m. Alan Heavens, District Court Judge, First Judicial District, Garnavillo
2:00 p.m. Aaron Lindebak, Attorney, Grefe & Sidney P.L.C., Des Moines
2:20 p.m. John Sandy, District Court Judge, Third Judicial District, Spirit Lake\
2:40 p.m. BREAK
2:50 p.m. Henry Latham, District Court Judge, Seventh Judicial District, Eldridge
3:10 p.m. Maura Sailer, Attorney, Lohman, Reitz, Sailer, Ullrich & Blazek, Denison
3:30 p.m. Christopher Kemp, District Court Judge, Fifth Judicial District, Grimes
3:50 p.m. Shawn Showers, District Court Judge, Eighth Judicial District, Washington
they better up their contributions to Kimmie’s campaign if they want the job.