Litigation

JAS Poll: Iowans Firmly Oppose Impeachment

By Peter Hardin

Iowa voters are solidly against a proposal to impeach four state Supreme Court justices, according to two new polls, one of them commissioned by the Justice at Stake Campaign and an Iowa-based group.

The impeachment proposal has drawn increasing national attention in recent weeks, following the historic ouster of three other Iowa justices by voters last November. That vote followed a campaign by social conservatives irate over a high court ruling in 2009 that permitted same-sex marriages.

Fifty-four percent of voters oppose the call for impeachment, while 36 percent favor it, according to the poll released today by Justice at Stake and the Iowa-based Justice Not Politics group.

In addition, only 17 percent of the voters said a court decision amounts to an impeachable offense, compared to 63 percent who said a court decision does not meet the standard for impeachment.

These voters gave their views after being advised that the Iowa Constitution’s standard for impeachment is commission of a “misdemeanor or malfeasance.”

“There can no longer be any doubt that Iowa voters have said a loud, emphatic ‘No’ to impeachment,” said Bert Brandenburg, JAS executive director, in a press release. ?Iowans, like all Americans, want their justice system insulated from hard-ball political attacks, even when they disagree with a particular decision.?

Leaders of the Iowa-based group are urging  the legislature to quickly end a ?misguided? impeachment effort by several legislators.

?Iowa voters reject the reckless calls by Bob Vander Plaats and his allies in the legislature for impeachment, and the entire misguided reasoning behind it,? said Sally Pederson, Co-Chair of Justice Not Politics.

?Voters understand the importance of an impartial court which upholds the constitution, and say no to impeachment before it does further damage to our state, and to our courts.?

An article in the Iowa Independent reported today on the poll results.

The results announced today virtually matched in a poll released last week by Public Policy Polling, which found that 55% of Iowa voters oppose impeachment, and only 38% support it. The JAS and Justice Not Politics poll was conducted by 20/20 Insight, an Atlanta firm.

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 18, 2011 (boomark / email).