opinion

Judge who asked attorneys to write his opinions tarnishes Iowa court system

A thistle to retired Plymouth County Judge Edward Jacobson for undermining public confidence in Iowa’s judicial system. He has admitted “a couple hundred” of his rulings were written by attorneys involved in cases before him, sometimes without the knowledge of opposing counsel.

It is not unusual for judges to ask attorneys to submit proposed decisions for consideration. Those requests are made in the open, and the attorneys’ work is labeled a “proposed decision.” It is made part of a public record and separate from the judge’s ruling. But Jacobson admitted he sometimes privately asked attorneys for the winning side to write up the decision and then email it to him rather than file it with the clerk of courts as a proposed decision.

Ex parte communications, in which a judge interacts privately with only one party in a case, are barred by the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct. One Iowa lawyer has labeled Jacobson's actions as "fraudulent" and an abuse of judicial discretion. Authoring final decisions allows attorneys to craft not only the judge’s factual findings but also the legal rationale.

When Jacobson admitted to the practice in a deposition last fall, he noted it lightened his workload and helped him meet the court system’s deadline for judges to rule on cases. Telling others to do his work likely did save him time. It also tarnished his entire judicial career and compromised the integrity of Iowa courts.

A rose to Natalie Niemeyer, a journalism teacher at East High School in Des Moines. She does her job so well she was recently named a Master Journalism Educator by the Journalism Education Association.

While she first aspired to be a journalist, she found teaching was her calling and took a position at East after graduating from the University of Iowa in 2011. When she arrived, there were 11 students on the school yearbook staff. Now there are more than 30. “We sold 430 copies of The Quill last year,” she said, “a record.” The yearbooks sell for $60 each and cost $59.50 to publish.

The first edition of the school’s newspaper, Scroll, circa 1931, is tucked in a corner of the room while students work on putting together the latest edition.

Niemeyer is doing her part to help the Fourth Estate thrive at a time when media are under fire from politicians and are needed more than ever. An independent, smart press is vital to democracy. It holds public officials accountable and informs our electorate. This Des Moines teacher is inspiring and encouraging future generations to be part of that important work.