Iowa’s system for selecting new judges was upheld by a federal appeals court Monday. Four Iowans sought a temporary restraining order and an injunction against the selection process claiming the process that allowed the Iowa Bar Association to nominate seven attorneys for the 15-member Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission is unconstitutional.

They said it gave to much input to lawyers and did not give ordinary citizens enough input. The governor chooses the other seven members of the commission and the senior Supreme Court Justice other than the Chief Justice fills out the other spot.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled the Iowa Bar Association is best positioned to evaluate the lawyers who’re nominated to the commission and dismissed the legal challenge. The lawsuit began as the nominating commission was selecting the three supreme court justices to replace those voted off the bench in the wake of their ruling that overturned Iowa’s law banning gay marriage.