Gay marriage ruling costs 3 judges

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20101103/NEWS01/711039884/1175#gay-marriage-ruling-costs-3-judges

Published Wednesday November 3, 2010

By C. David Kotok
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Iowa voters punished three justices of the Iowa Supreme Court for their 2009 ruling legalizing same-sex marriages.

The results do nothing to overturn the controversial 7-0 ruling by the court but sent a loud message that a majority of Iowa voters remained angry that the court — not the Legislature — had overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriages.

Ousted was Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, along with Justices David Baker and Michael Streit. They happened to be the three Supreme Court justices who faced a retention vote on Tuesday's ballot.

It was the first time that voters have ousted a member of the Iowa Supreme Court. As in Nebraska and many other states, judges are appointed by the governor in Iowa, and they stand before voters who decide whether to retain them. It is very rare when judges are removed from office.

The fight over the Iowa justices gained national attention when a combination of in-state and out-of-state organizations made it the focal point of their protest over the same-sex marriage ruling.

For example, the National Organization for Marriage spent $200,000 on anti-justices TV commercials. The organizations working to remove the judges outspent the pro-justices groups by nearly 4-to-1 through mid-October.

FULL story at link.

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1. Welcome to the end of judicial independence here in Iowa