Mark Cady
Mark Cady was the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court in 1998 by Republican Governor Terry E. Branstad. He served until he died of a heart attack on November 15, 2019.[1]
Cady became the chief justice of the court on January 1, 2011.[2][3][4]
In his role as chief justice, Cady expressed support for increasing technology in the court system, including text message reminders for court dates and online processing of small claims disputes.[5][6]
Cady wrote the opinion in Varnum v. Brien, a 2009 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa.
Prior to his appointment to the state supreme court, Cady served on the Iowa Court of Appeals from 1994 to 1998. He was elected chief judge in 1997.[7]
Education
Cady received his undergraduate degree from Drake University and his J.D. in 1978 from Drake University Law School.[4]
Career
- 1998-2019: Justice, Iowa Supreme Court
- 2011-2019: Chief Justice
- 1994-1998: Judge, Iowa Court of Appeals
- 1986-1994: District Court Judge
- 1983-1986: Associate Judge
- 1980-1983: Assistant, Webster County, Iowa Attorney and Private Practice
- 1978-1979: Law Clerk, Iowa District Two[4]
Awards and associations
Awards
- Member, Order of Coif[4]
Associations
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Webster County Bar Association
- Member, Iowa Judges Association
- Member, Iowa State Bar Association
- Member, Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Member, Drake Law School Board of Counselors
- Member, President's Advisory Council
- Adjunct faculty member at Buena Vista University[4]
Committees
- Chair, iCivics Inc.
- Chair, Iowa Supreme Court Task Force on the Court's and Communities' Response to Domestic Abuse[4]
Elections
2016
Cady filed to stand for retention in 2016.[8]
Election results
November 8 general election
Mark Cady was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 65.30% of the vote.
| Iowa Supreme Court, Cady's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Mark Cady | 65.30% | |
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results | ||
2008 Election
| Iowa Supreme Court 2008 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| For retention
|
693,233 | 73% | ||
| Against retention | 256,817 | 27% | ||
- Click here for 2008 General Election Results from the Iowa Secretary of State.
Noteworthy cases
AFSCME Council 61 v. Iowa and Iowa State Education Association v. Iowa (2019)
In two separate rulings issued on May 17, 2019, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a 2017 law that amended collective bargaining rights for the state's public-sector workforce. The court ruled 4-3 in the state's favor in both cases.[9]
In 2017, then-Gov. Terry Branstad (R) signed into law a series of amendments to Iowa's public-sector labor relations law. As a result, collective bargaining units with less than 30 percent public-safety personnel (defined generally as firefighters and police officers) were barred from negotiating insurance, hours, vacations, holidays, overtime, and health and safety issues unless their employers elected to do so. Collective bargaining units exceeding the 30-percent threshold were exempted from these restrictions.[9]
The plaintiffs, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 61 (AFSCME Council 61) and the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA), argued the amendments violated their equal protection and associational rights under the state constitution. The defendants were the state of Iowa and the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board. Both cases were filed in state district courts, which ruled against the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs appealed these decisions to the state supreme court.[10]
In each case, the court ruled 4-3 in the state's favor. In the majority opinion covering both cases, Justice Thomas Waterman wrote: "The 2017 amendments do not infringe on a fundamental right of association. The plaintiffs 'come to us with a problem suitable only for political solution.' The plaintiffs are free to attempt to persuade public employers, such as the State and local governments and school boards, to voluntarily bargain over formerly mandatory terms. The plaintiffs otherwise must look to the ballot box and the elected branches to change this lawfully enacted statute." Justices Susan Christensen, Edward Mansfield, and Christopher McDonald joined Waterman’s opinion.[10]
Chief Justice Mark Cady and Justices Brent Appel and David Wiggins dissented. In his dissent, Cady wrote: "[The] Iowa statute ends up treating many similarly situated public employees in Iowa differently based solely on the bargaining unit they belong to and not for the reason the constitution would justify different treatment of public employees. Our constitution requires laws to treat similarly situated people equally unless there is an adequate reason otherwise. In this case, the overinclusiveness and underinclusiveness written into the statute drowned this reason out."[10]
Varnum vs. Brien
Cady wrote the opinion for the ruling overturning the statewide ban on same-sex marriage.[11][12]
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Cady received a campaign finance score of 1.03, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.21 that justices received in Iowa.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[13]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Iowa Supreme Court Mark Cady. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Iowa Supreme Court website
- Decorah Newspapers, "Supreme Court Justice Cady says our ability to change separates us"
- Chief Justice Cady's 2011 State of the Judiciary address
- WCF Courrier, "Chief justice warns of political influence," September 16, 2011
- Press-Citizen, State constitution should be read by all, celebrated often," September 17, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "'He leaves behind a legacy of service and dedication that we should never forget': Iowa's leaders remember Chief Justice Mark Cady," updated November 17, 2019
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa Supreme Court picks Cady as Chief Justice," December 3, 2010
- ↑ Radio Iowa, "Supreme Court makes interim chief justice permanent," March 31, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Iowa Judicial Branch, "Chief Justice Mark S. Cady," accessed July 29, 2016
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Chief justice: Let Iowans resolve more court disputes online," January 16, 2019
- ↑ Whotv.com, "Chief Justice Mark Cady Wants Iowa Justice System More Tech Savvy," January 16, 2019
- ↑ Iowa Judicial Branch, "Mark S. Cady," accessed February 6, 2019
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Judges Standing for Retention," July 27, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Gazette, "Iowa justices uphold controversial collective bargaining changes," May 17, 2019
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Supreme Court of Iowa, "AFSCME Iowa Council 61 v. Iowa: Decision," May 17, 2019
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman," April 3, 2010
- ↑ firedoglake.com, "Thank You Justice Cady, Your Words in “Varnum v Brien” Will Get a Lot of Attention — As Well They Should.," April 4, 2010
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa
State courts:
Iowa Supreme Court • Iowa Court of Appeals • Iowa district courts
State resources:
Courts in Iowa • Iowa judicial elections • Judicial selection in Iowa
