Iowa Code § 602.6301
Number and apportionment of district associate judges
Redline — January 1, 2012 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2025
As of January 1, 2012
There shall be one district associate judge in counties having a population of more than thirty-five thousand and less than eighty thousand; two in counties having a population of eighty thousand or more and less than one hundred twenty-five thousand; three in counties having a population of one hundred twenty-five thousand or more and less than one hundred seventy thousand; four in counties having a population of one hundred seventy thousand or more and less than two hundred fifteen thousand; five in counties having a population of two hundred fifteen thousand or more and less than two hundred sixty thousand; six in counties having a population of two hundred sixty thousand or more and less than three hundred five thousand; seven in counties having a population of three hundred five thousand or more and less than three hundred fifty thousand; eight in counties having a population of three hundred fifty thousand or more and less than three hundred ninety-five thousand; nine in counties having a population of three hundred ninety-five thousand or more and less than four hundred forty thousand; ten in counties having a population of four hundred forty thousand or more and less than four hundred eighty-five thousand; and one additional judge for every population increment of thirty-five thousand which is over four hundred eighty-five thousand in such counties. However, a county shall not lose a district associate judgeship solely because of a reduction in the county’s population. If the formula provided in this section results in the allocation of an additional district associate judgeship to a county, implementation of the allocation shall be subject to prior approval of the supreme court and availability of funds to the judicial branch. A district associate judge appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
1. The supreme court shall prescribe, subject to the restrictions of this section, a formula to determine the number of district associate judges who will serve in each judicial election district. The formula shall be based upon a model that measures and applies an estimated case-related workload formula of judicial officers, and shall account for administrative duties, travel time, and other judicial duties not related to a specific case. A district associate judge appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
2. For purposes of this section, “vacancy” means the death, resignation, retirement, or removal of a district associate judge, or the failure of a district associate judge to be retained in office at the judicial election, or an increase in judgeships under the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
3. In those judicial election districts having more district associate judges than the number of judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies shall not be filled.
4. In those judicial election districts having fewer or the same number of district associate judges as the number of judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies shall be filled as the vacancies occur.
5. In those judicial districts that contain more than one judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election district shall not be filled if the total number of district associate judges in all judicial election districts within the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts of the judicial district are authorized by the formula in subsection 1.
6. An incumbent district associate judge shall not be removed from office because of a reduction in the number of authorized judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
83 Acts, ch 186, §7301, 10201; 94 Acts, ch 1127, §2; 96 Acts, ch 1068, §1; 98 Acts, ch 1047, §58; 98 Acts, ch 1115, §12; 2003 Acts, ch 151, §40; 2006 Acts, ch 1060, §1
83 Acts, ch 186, §7301, 10201; 94 Acts, ch 1127, §2; 96 Acts, ch 1068, §1; 98 Acts, ch 1047, §58; 98 Acts, ch 1115, §12; 2003 Acts, ch 151, §40; 2006 Acts, ch 1060, §1; 2023 Acts, ch 114, §6
Referred to in
Official source: Iowa Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Iowa statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.