Seventeen people have applied to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Iowa Supreme Court. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Louis Lavorato will retire on September 29, 2006. The remaining justices will vote soon to pick the next chief justice from among those currently serving on the court.
The Judicial Nominating Commission will meet next week, on July 13 and 14, to interview the 17 applicants for the opening that’ll be left on the court. The commission will select three nominees and submit those names to the governor, who makes the appointment to the court.
Among those who’ve applied are Daryl Hecht of Sloan, a current member of the Iowa Court of Appeals and Suellen Overton, a lawyer from Council Bluffs who’s been a member of the State Board of Corrections for the past 12 years and who is also a member of the Iowa Air National Guard.
Five district court judges also applied to move up the bench. Here is the entire list of 17 applicants: Brent Appel, Attorney, Ackworth; David Baker, District Judge, Cedar Rapids; Arthur Gamble, District Judge, Chief Judge, 5th Judicial District, Clive; Sharon Greer, Attorney, Marshalltown; Daryl Hecht, Court of Appeals Judge, Sloan; Andrew Howie, Attorney, West Des Moines; Dean Jennings, Attorney, Council Bluffs; Bruce Kempkes, Assistant Attorney General, Earlham; John Lloyd, District Judge, Osceola; Gary McKenrick, District Judge, Low Moor; Suellen Overton, Attorney, Council Bluffs; Dale Ruigh, District Judge, Ames; David Sallen, Public Defender, Fort Madison; Frank Tenuta, Attorney, Sioux City; Deborah Tharnish, Attorney, Des Moines; Dianne Wallway, Attorney and Judicial Magistrate, Cedar Rapids; Thomas Waterman, Attorney, Pleasant Valley.