"We Expect a Decision" In Our Favor, Gov. Reynolds Tells Iowa Supreme Court

from Justice Not Politics email (affiliated with progressiowa)

Three independent branches of government – the legislative, judicial, and executive – are the bedrock of our constitutional government. But it appears the Governor of Iowa ignored that lesson during civics class.

After an Iowa District court issued a temporary injunction on the newly passed six-week abortion ban, Governor Reynolds said in a statement, “... I will fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court, where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn.” [Emphasis ours.]

This broadside follows her attack weeks earlier after the Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3 on whether to revisit a District court ruling that blocked the 2018 version of the six-week ban. The Governor said the three justices who voted against revisiting the injunction (all appointed by Republican governors) “engaged in pure political rhetoric.” She then criticized their legal reasoning that the Legislature should take up the matter again because the laws of the land governing abortion were different in 2018.

Adding fuel to the fire are threats by conservative activists like Bob Vander Plaats, head of The Family Leader. Soon after the 3-3 deadlock, he accused the three justices that didn’t rule his way of “blatant disrespect for the constitution, the people's representatives, and we the people,” and said, “They should resign, be impeached or be ousted.” Need we remind you that Vander Plaats led a backlash movement in 2010 to vote out three outstanding justices for their vote on marriage equality?

Now, imagine you are one of Iowa’s seven Supreme Court justices. The Governor – whose administration appointed you to the bench – is making it VERY clear she wants you to vote HER way on a fraught political and social issue. If you don’t deliver, she can urge the Legislature to slash the court budget or support articles of impeachment against you. Abortion opponents can attack your integrity and push for impeachment or, at the very least, mount a campaign to try and oust you through a retention vote.

If you vote to support the position of the Governor and these loud special interests, regardless of how sound your legal reasoning is, Iowans could wonder if political pressure played a role. It’s a terrible conundrum, and it’s exactly why politics is such a corrosive influence on our courts.

During the months ahead, as the newest injunction on the abortion ban works its way to the Supreme Court, we’ll continue to red-flag efforts to browbeat our justices. We’ll also provide you with an opportunity to weigh in with the politicians doing the browbeating. Nothing less than the independence of our courts is at stake.

Defending judicial independence,

Team Justice Not Politics