Divided Iowa Supreme Court says county attorney who sexually harassed subordinates should get his job back

Lucas Grundmeier | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Iowa Poll: 41% of women experience workplace sexual harassment A new Iowa Poll takes a look at women in the workplace and their experience with sexual harassment.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that a southeast Iowa county attorney who had been ousted by a judge for sexually harassing co-workers should get his job back.

A divided court that has no female ruled that District Judge James Drew erred when he found in 2017 that Abraham Watkins had committed "willful misconduct or maladministration in office."

The standard set by that Iowa law, which allows the courts to unseat elected officials, is high, Justice Bruce Zager wrote in his plurality opinion. He said an acting county attorney appointed by Van Buren County supervisors did not show that that high standard had been met.

"The conduct of the county attorney, while deserving the disapproval it received from the district court, did not rise to the level of misconduct that would warrant the 'drastic' and 'penal' remedy of a court order removing an elected official from office," Zager wrote.

Three justices starkly dissented, with Justice David Wiggins saying Watkins was getting his job back via the "good-old-boy excuse."

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"Sexual harassment will not end until it is seen as serious enough to end," Chief Justice Mark Cady wrote in a separate opinion.

The outcome turned on the decision of Justice Brent Appel, who wrote that he largely agreed with Cady's assessment of the facts but felt compelled to restore Watkins based on the "extraordinarily demanding standard for removal" the law required.

"This case should be a model for county attorneys of how not to conduct themselves in office," Appel wrote.

Van Buren County's Board of Supervisors initially sought to remove Watkins from office in September 2016.

An initial complaint against Watkins accused the prosecutor of commenting on female employees' breasts and making other sexual comments in the office, which was attached to his Keosauqua home and private law office.

Drew, the district judge, in his removal order cited witnesses' testimony that:

At least twice, Watkins came into the office wearing only boxer briefs in front of a legal assistant. Watkins also showed the female employee two naked pictures of his wife and once asked the employee whether she wore a padded bra or if her breasts were "really just that big."

Watkins told the same legal assistant that he'd kept naked photos of all his former girlfriends and was "glad" that he did.

Watkins once showed an assistant county attorney who worked for him a nude photo of his wife, who was covered in blue body paint.

Watkins "regularly" spoke with a friend who was a retired police officer about sex and "frequently offered to show (the friend) naked pictures of his wife."

Watkins was elected to serve the southeastern Iowa county of 7,500 in November 2014.

In the ruling ordering that Watkins be reinstated, Zager wrote that Watkins' "state of mind" was important in assessing whether his removal was valid.

Watkins did not seek sexual favors as a condition of employment and believed his close relationship with his subordinates made it permissible to make joking remarks.

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"We are not persuaded that Watkins acted 'with a bad or evil purpose, contrary to known duty,' which requires more than a showing that Watkins acted intentionally," the ruling said. " … Nor are we persuaded that he committed many of the charged acts within the scope of his official responsibilities."

Zager repeatedly emphasized that Watkins' crude behavior was "disgraceful." But, he wrote, "in our democratic system of government, it is vitally important that the judiciary not be seen as imposing standards of conduct on elected officials, even if those standards are firmly grounded. We are judges, not guardians of behavior for elected officials."

Cady's dissent, which was joined by Justice Daryl Hecht, said modern courts need to rely on a modern understanding of the seriousness of sexual harassment in the same way they have evolved to recognize other injustices.

Cady cited an early 20th century Iowa Supreme Court case that upheld a law saying that female pharmacists could not sell intoxicating liquors.

"The smudges of the past obscured the injustice now fully visible in hindsight," Cady said.

Testimony established that Watkins knew his comments were inappropriate, Cady wrote, later adding, "What benign intent is consistent with harassment?"

The effects of a hostile work environment are now well known, Cady wrote, concluding that in the case of Watkins, the environment amounted to grave misconduct in office.

"Today's decision is intimately tied to a bygone era of law that shielded men who knew better, at the expense of their female employees, who were required to abandon their jobs or forced to accept harassment as a condition of employment," he said.

Watkins' attorney, Alfredo Parrish, said Watkins has learned from the experience. He said they're "thrilled" with the outcome, which acknowledged Watkins behavior took place in a home office where personal relationships existed alongside professional associations.

"He didn't hide the fact that he made some mistakes," Parrish said. "We don't just discard people when they make mistakes."

The state attorney general's office declined to comment.

Mark Meek, who chairs the Van Buren County Board of Supervisors, said the county is willing to work with Watkins.

"We don't have any choice — it's the law," Meek said. "Naturally, we disagreed with the findings of the Supreme Court, but we'll live with it."

Watkins' term runs through 2018. A deputy county attorney, who was one of two accusers, was named interim county attorney after Watkins' ouster. She isn't running for election. Republican Craig Miller, a former Van Buren County attorney, is the only declared candidate for the part-time position, but other candidates can enter the race during an August filing period.

Parrish said Watkins plans to decide soon whether he wants to resume serving as county attorney. Meek said the county has already received resignations from the interim and assistant county attorneys in preparation for Watkins' return.

This story includes information from the Associated Press.