Law v. Gast

641 F.Supp.3d 580

Rachel Raak LAW and Micah Broekemeier, Plaintiffs, v. Robert GAST, in his official capacity as State Court Administrator for the Iowa Judicial Branch, Defendant.

Case No. 4:22-cv-00176-SMR-SBJ

United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, Central Division

Signed November 20, 2022

Alan R. Ostergren, Alan R. Ostergren, PC, Des Moines, IA, Anastasia P. Boden, Pro Hac Vice, Wencong Fa, Pro Hac Vice, Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, CA, Laura D'Agostino, Pro Hac Vice, Pacific Legal Foundation, Arlington, VA, for Plaintiffs.

Samuel P. Langholz, David Michael Ranscht, Jeffrey S. Thompson, Iowa Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General, Des Moines, IA, for Defendant.

ORDER ON PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

STEPHANIE M. ROSE, CHIEF JUDGE

An Iowa statute requires the Iowa State Bar Association to elect an equal number of men and women to serve on the commission that considers applicants to the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals. Plaintiffs filed suit seeking to enjoin the law on the basis it violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Shortly after, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction to prevent enforcement of the law for the upcoming election. For the reasons detailed below, the Motion is DENIED.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. History of the State Judicial Nominating Commission

In 1962, Iowans enacted a constitutional amendment that implemented a new process for selecting individuals charged with considering applicants to the Iowa Court of Appeals and the Iowa Supreme Court. See Iowa Const. art. V, §§ 15-16. Specifically, the amendment vested a State Judicial Nominating Commission ("the Commission") with the power to vet applicants who applied to vacancies on Iowa's appellate courts. Iowa Const. art. V, § 16. The Commission is tasked with interviewing candidates and submitting names of individuals to the Governor of Iowa for further consideration and potential appointment. Id.

The first iteration of the Commission consisted of fifteen members. [ECF No. 20-1 at 4 (Iowa Official Register of 1963)]. Seven of the commissioners were selected by the membership of the Iowa State Bar Association ("ISBA") to provide professional opinions on the legal acumen of candidates. Id. The ISBA chose individuals to serve on the Commission through an election that used single-member districts. Id.

The first ISBA election occurred shortly after the enactment of the new amendments and selected individuals for a term commencing in 1963. [ECF No. 20-1 at 4]. ISBA members did not elect a woman to serve on the Commission in the election.¹ Id. Over the next twenty-five years, from 1963 to 1987, ISBA members did not elect any women to serve on the Commission. [ECF Nos. 20-1 at 4-42 (Iowa Official Registers 1963-1986)]. All women who served on the Commission prior to 1987 were appointed by the Governor of Iowa and confirmed by the Iowa Senate.² Id.

B. First Amendment to the Commission Structure

In 1987, the Iowa Legislature enacted a law to address the lack of women elected to the Commission. It amended the underlying statute to state, "for the first elective term open on or after July 1, 1987, in the odd-numbered districts the elected member shall be a woman and in the even-numbered districts the elected member shall be a man." Iowa Code § 46.2. (1987). Further, the statute required that "the districts shall alternate between women and men elected members." Id. In essence, the statute required ISBA members to elect an equal number of men and women to represent them on the Commission. Id. Parties agree the statute was executed as drafted from the date of its enactment until its revision in 2019. Id.

C. Second Amendment to the Commission Structure

The Iowa Legislature recently amended the statutes governing the process used by ISBA members to select representatives to the Commission. 2019 Iowa Acts 302, 312-15. Under the new law, the Commission is comprised of seventeen members, nine of whom are appointed by the Governor and eight of whom are elected by the ISBA membership. Iowa Code §§ 46.1-46.2 (2019). The number of positions elected by ISBA members is evenly split among Iowa's four Congressional districts, which means each Congressional District can select two people. Iowa Code § 46.2(1). The law mandates the elected commissioners be "of different genders," which is understood to require the election of one woman and one man.³ Id. Beyond this, the de minimis qualification to serve is an individual must be qualified to vote in Iowa. Iowa Code § 48A(5).

D. Election Process

The ISBA election that selects the eight commissioners is conducted by the State Court Administrator for the Iowa Judicial Branch. See Iowa Code § 46.9(1). The process begins when the State Court Administrator sends ISBA members a release announcing upcoming vacancies on the Commission. [ECF Nos. 1-2 at 1 (Sample Announcement); 20-1 at 2 (Gast Depo.)]. The announcement explains the process for an interested individual to run in the election. [ECF No. 1-2 at 1]. When vacancies occur for terms starting in February, the announcements are generally sent in early December to comply with the statutory notice requirement. Iowa Code § 46.9A.

A candidate seeking election to the Commission usually submits a nominating petition to appear on the ISBA ballot. [ECF No. 20-1 at 2]. The individual must submit "the signatures of at least ten eligible [ISBA] electors" to the State Court Administrator as part of the petition. Id. Only current members of the ISBA may endorse individuals to run for the positions. Id. The deadline to submit the petition is a month before the term starts, which typically falls in early January. Id.

After the deadline, the State Court Administrator sends out an electronic ballot to current ISBA members. [ECF No. 1-3 at 2 (Certification of Prior Election)]. The ballot contains names of the candidates who qualified for the election via submission of a nominating petition and a space to add write in candidates. Id. The eligible electors in the ISBA vote over a brief period. Id. The winner is announced in early February, and they are sworn in afterwards. Id.

E. Upcoming Commission Election⁴

ISBA members are slated to select three individuals in January 2023 to fill six-year terms commencing in February 2023. [ECF No. 20-1 at 2]. The statute requires the ISBA members in Iowa's First Congressional District to select a woman to replace outgoing commissioner Dorothy O'Brien. Id. Electors in Iowa's Third Congressional District must choose another man to succeed outgoing commissioner Henry Bevel. Id. Finally, eligible lawyers in Iowa's Fourth Congressional District will select a man to replace outgoing commissioner John Gray. Id.

The Commission elections will be conducted under the timeframe described earlier in the order. The electronic press release announcing the three vacancies will be sent to members of the ISBA "on or before December 2, 2022." [ECF No. 20-1 at 2]. The deadline "to be placed on the ballot for the 2023 election" by nominating petition is "January 2, 2023." Id. After this date, the State Court Administrator will mail the electronic ballots to eligible ISBA voters and voting will occur in January 2023. Id. The results and swearing in the new commissioners will most likely occur in late January 2023 or early February 2023. Id.

F. Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Rachel Raak Law lives in Woodbury County, Iowa. [ECF No. 17 (Raak Law First Decl.)]. She served on the District Judicial Nominating Commission, which interviews and recommends candidates for appointment to the Iowa district courts, from 2012 to 2018. [ECF No. 22-1 at 1 (Raak Law Second Decl.)]. She gathered ten signatures "on a nominating petition from the 2021 State Judicial Nominating Commission election." Id. at 2. She maintains that the Iowans who signed her previous petition - all of whom reside within the Fourth Congressional District - would sign her nominating petition for the 2023 election.⁵ Id. She offered to file the names, addresses, and contact information of the individuals under seal. Id. Raak Law avers the only reason she cannot run in the Fourth Congressional District election is because the 2023 election is restricted to male candidates. Id.

Plaintiff Micah Broekemeier lives in Johnson County, Iowa, in the First Congressional District. [ECF Nos. 18 at 1 (Broekemeier First Decl.); ECF No. 20 at 2]. He previously ran for a position on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, where he engaged with lawyers who may support his candidacy for the Commission. [ECF No. 21-2 at 1 (Broekemeier Second Decl.)]. He currently serves on the nominating committee for the Johnson County Republicans, where he interviews candidates who wish to run for public office. [ECF No. 18 at 1]. He maintains that numerous eligible individuals "are familiar with my background . . . and support me in my endeavor to be on the . . . Commission." [ECF No. 21-2 at 2]. Broekemeier asserts he cannot run for election because the Commissioner elected from the First Congressional District in 2023 must be a woman. Id.

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 24, 2022, Plaintiffs Rachel Raak Law and Micah Broekemeier filed this lawsuit against Defendant Robert Gast, the State Court Administrator for the Iowa Judicial Branch. [ECF No. 1]. They are suing Gast in his official capacity. Id. (citing Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123, 189, 28 S.Ct. 441, 52 L.Ed. 714 (1908)). The lawsuit seeks to prevent Gast from enforcing Iowa Code § 46.2 on the ground it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Id. at 8. Specifically, Plaintiffs maintain the requirement prohibits Plaintiff Rachel Raak Law from serving in her northwest Iowa district because the upcoming election is limited to men. Id. at 7. They assert the law prevents Plaintiff Micah Broekemeier from running for election in his southeast Iowa district because only...