Iowa Judges Won't Fight Ouster Campaign

Iowa supreme court chief justice Marsha Ternus said that she and two colleagues do not plan to launch a campaign against conservative activists who want to unseat them for voting for last year's unanimous decision for marriage equality.

According to the Associated Press, "Ternus told the Telegraph Herald of Dubuque that she and justices David Baker and Michael Streit don't want to set an example for judges by campaigning and raising money."

Ternus said, "How would you feel, as a litigant, to appear in court and know that the opposing party's attorney gave money to the judge's re-election campaign and your attorney didn't? Is that the kind of system Iowans want? I just hope they think about it. This is way more important than whether any one judge is retained or not."

The ouster campaign, led by failed Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats, was announced in August to remove the justices at the ballot box this November.