A co-chair of the group is Sioux City civil attorney Dan Moore, a Republican and past-president of the Iowa State Bar Association and former secretary and treasurer of the Vander Plaats for Governor campaign.

Moore, who served on Vander Plaats’ primary campaign this year and on his campaigns in 2006 and 2002, said Fair Courts For Us is about protecting the state’s judicial system from political influence, not about any particular politician, judge or justice.

“I’m convinced that if we had politics and campaign money entering into our judiciary, that we would not enjoy the respect we do enjoy both in and outside the state of Iowa,” he said, citing a U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranking of Iowa as having the fifth-best legal business climate in the nation.

He said there are other avenues available to those who disagree with a court decision, such as appealing to a higher court or amending the state constitution, rather than targeting a judge or justice up for retention based just on one decision.