Rev. Gordon Files Complaint with Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Voting Section, NWB
Washington, D.C. 20530
Chief Chris Herron,
I wish to file a complaint on behalf of PeaceMakers Institute, against Iowa 5th Judicial District Polk County Judge, Robert Hansen. Judge Hansen made inappropriate public statements on Tuesday, September 21st, politicizing the upcoming Iowa judicial retention vote, inappropriately encouraging Iowa voters to retain members of our State Supreme Court, whose recent rulings are being considered by voters as the retention election, (required by Iowa Constitution Article V, SEC. 17), approaches.
Among other things, Hansen stated, “An effort to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices for their role in striking down Iowa’s ban on same-sex marriage is at best misguided and at worst an abuse of the system.” [i]
Citizens and/or corporations who may have pending cases before the 5th Judicial district will now feel intimidated to publicly express an opinion contrary to Judge Hansen’s electioneering, for fear of reprisals in his courtroom. This is a violation of Judge Hansen’s duty to remain impartial. We ask your department to investigate this situation; 1) to safeguard the integrity of the judiciary, 2) to protect the felicity of Iowa voters, who require both impartial rulings in Judge Hansen’s court and a fair election process.
The voting Rights Act of 1965 commands that “no person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, coerce or attempt to intimidate, threaten or coerce any person from voting or attempting to vote.” 42 U.S.C. § 1973i.
During the conference cited above, Judge Hansen used the weight of his office to promote the political interests of the American Judicature Society. He engaged in an act of voter suppression and voter intimidation. His statements were clearly designed to discourage the citizens of Iowa from voting in the upcoming retention election. He abused his position of judicial power and influence by violating commonly understood standards for judicial impartiality. Mr. Hansen made it very clear that the fundamental right of citizens to hold courts accountable (Article V, SEC. 17) is under attack by the judiciary itself.
Moreover, Mr. Hansen is a member of The American Judicature Society (AJS)[ii], and seeks to eliminate what little accountability remains in Iowa’s current system by abolishing the retention process entirely. The AJS is on record publishing, “Ironically, it is the public’s role in retention elections that has the potential of diminishing public confidence in the impartiality of the courts….in the long run, the demonstrated ability of special interest groups to manipulate public opinion against incumbent judges raises serious questions about whether retention elections, or any elections, should be used in state judicial selection.” [Emphasis Added].[iii]
Cordially,
Rev. Cary K. Gordon
President, PeaceMakers Institute
[i] Josh Nelson, “Gay Marriage Judge Denounces Ouster Effort,” wcfcourier.com, 501 Commercial St. Waterloo, IA, Wednesday, September 22, 2010.
[ii] http://www.iowacourts.gov/wfData/files/RetentionElections2010/IowaVotersJudicialDirectory.pdf
[iii] American Judicature Society, “The Politicization of Judicial Retention Elections,” 2700 University Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa, 1999, page 69.
