Federal Judge Strikes Down Iowa’s Gender Balance Law on Judicial Nominating Commission
DES MOINES, Iowa — A federal judge has ruled that a decades-old Iowa law requiring gender balance on the state’s top judicial nominating commission is no longer constitutional and cannot be enforced. The law, which was implemented in the 1980s, mandates that the commission recommending candidates to fill vacancies on Iowa’s appellate courts must have an equal number of male and female members. The decision came as a result of a lawsuit filed by attorneys from the Pacific Legal Foundation challenging the law, arguing that it violated the equal protection guarantees of the 14th Amendment. … Read more