2008 plebiscite rates judges The 60 Iowa judges standing for retention in this year’s general election on Nov. 4 received high marks for their performance and demeanor from the attorneys who voted in the biannual plebiscite, or survey, conducted by The Iowa State Bar Association. The results were generated from the 1,836 survey responses completed by ISBA members for this year’s evaluation, which was conducted from mid August through the first week of September. Since 1962, the ISBA has conducted the plebiscite survey as a way of giving voters information on which to base their decisions about keeping a judge in office, and as a way to help judges evaluate themselves. Under Iowa’s judicial merit selection system, judges are appointed by the governor after going through an extensive interview and evaluation process by the Judicial Nominating Committee. Voters then decide every few years during the November general elections whether the judges should remain in office. Only attorneys who have appeared before a judge often enough that the judge could evaluate their performance as attorneys are eligible to complete the survey. Attorneys rate the judges on 12 questions (10 for Court of Appeals judges and Supreme Court justices), and answer “yes” or “no” on the final question of whether a judge should be retained in office. The rating system uses a five for “excellent” and a one for “very poor” when evaluating a judge’s performance in the courtroom, and a five for “strongly agree” and a one for “strongly disagree” when evaluating his or her demeanor towards others. All 14 of Iowa’s judicial election districts have at least one judge standing for retention in this year’s general election. Three justices on the Iowa Supreme Court and three judges on the Iowa Court of Appeals are also up for retention this year. Use 2008 Judicial Plebiscite link below to see the results on all questions for all 60 judges. You can also learn more about retention elections and the judges standing for retention, including the date they were appointed to the court, their education, their careers and their professional activities in the “2008 Voter Guide: Iowa Judicial Retention Elections” produced by the Iowa Supreme Court. Click here (http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/wfdata/files/08judicialretentionelectionswithbios.pdf) to view the Voter Guide. Judicial Plebsicite Rules 2008 Plebiscite Audio Interview of former Supreme Court Justice, Linda Neumann 2008 Judicial Plebiscite Results 2006 Judicial Plebiscite Results 2004 Judicial Plebiscite Results