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A majority of Iowans prefer not to make changes to the nominating commissions that help select judges, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.

Iowans prefer to keep the state’s current judicial selection system by a 21-point margin, with 54 percent favoring the current system and 33 percent favoring change, according to the poll. Thirteen percent said they are not sure.

The poll of 803 Iowa adults was conducted Feb. 10-13 by Selzer & Co. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

It comes as Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are moving forward with a plan that would give lawmakers and the governor more control over who sits on the state’s judicial nominating commissions. The nominating commissions interview applicants for judgeships and send the names of finalists to the governor.

In the current system, half of commission members are chosen by the governor, and half are lawyers elected by other lawyers. The proposal would eliminate the lawyer elections and let legislative leaders of both parties appoint half the members. Half of the total members would still be lawyers.

More:Iowa speeds forward on changing how judges are selected

Democrats, Republicans and independents want to keep the current system

In the Legislature, the two parties have largely split on the idea of changing the system. Republicans have said the changes they propose would bring more accountability; Democrats have accused Republicans of a power grab.

But poll responses show Republicans, Democrats and independents prefer the current system at about the same rate. Fifty-three percent of Republicans, 54 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of independents favor keeping the system the way it is, while 32 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of Democrats and 33 percent of independents want to change it.

Ann Dudler, a 61-year-old poll respondent from University Heights, said she thinks Iowa should keep its current system because it’s more impartial than the changes being proposed.

Dudler, a Democrat, said it’s important for lawyers to be involved in the judicial selection process because they have more direct experience with the candidates applying to be judges. Even though lawyers would still be part of the process under the proposed change, Dudler said she believes the current system is preferable.

“I still think it would come down to it being more political in nature if the people who were chosen to be on those commissions were of like mind or friends of or however they would be connected to those politicians who would be choosing those people,” she said.

More:Iowa Republicans introduce bill that gives lawmakers, governor more power over court

One respondent says the current system creates a ‘good old boys’ club’

But others worry that the current system results in subpar commissioners. Thirty-three-year-old Tim Brown of Albia said allowing lawyers to select other lawyers creates a "good old boys’ club.”

“When you’ve got lawyers selecting other lawyers, I think that has a greater potential to get people into positions they shouldn’t be in,” he said.

Brown, a Republican, said he would prefer that legislators select those commissioners even though he expects there would still be some “good old boys’ stuff” under that method.

“If you don’t like the jobs the politicians are doing, vote them out,” he said.

Another poll respondent, 66-year-old Donald Bohlken of Indianola, said Iowa’s judges are far more liberal than its general population, citing a study by Vanderbilt law professor Brian Fitzpatrick. Bohlken said changing how the nominating commissioners are chosen could help address that.

“I think we ought to have judges that are more representatives of the views of the general Iowa population,” said Bohlken, who is a Republican and a retired administrative law judge.

Although Bohlken is eligible to vote in the lawyer elections for judicial nominating commissions, he said he can’t recall ever doing so.

More:Chief justice: 'Iowans are losing access to justice'

A majority of respondents approve of the Iowa Supreme Court

The poll also shows a majority of Iowans — 59 percent — approve of the job the Iowa Supreme Court is doing, while 14 percent disapprove and 27 percent are unsure.

Those approving the court include 60 percent of Republicans, 51 percent of evangelicals and 63 percent of Catholics, despite Supreme Court rulings legalizing same-sex marriage and protecting abortion access that have angered conservatives.

Bohlken, however, disapproves of the Iowa Supreme Court’s performance. He is concerned that the justices follow a “living constitution” model, with which he disagrees.

“Regarding the Constitution, I’m more of a Justice Scalia type of analysis where you have more of a strict construction view of the Constitution,” Bohlken said.

When it comes to funding for the Iowa court system, a plurality of Iowans say they think things are working just fine.

Three percent of Iowans think funding for Iowa’s courts is a crisis, down from 8 percent in January 2018. Thirteen percent think it’s a big problem, down from 19 percent in January 2018. Twenty-seven percent of Iowans think funding for the court system is a little problem, 31 percent say it’s working just fine and 26 percent are not sure.

In 2018, mid-year budget cuts caused Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady to warn of deteriorating legal services and prompted the Iowa Judicial Branch to warn that up to 30 counties could lose court services. The concerns about closures did not come to pass, and Cady did not raise concerns about funding in his annual address this year.

More:What would happen if 30 Iowa counties lost court services?

About this poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted February 10-13 for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 803 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex, and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent census data.

Questions based on the sample of 803 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents—such as by gender or age—have a larger margin of error.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.

Iowa Poll Methodology