SO YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE? PROGRAM University of Iowa College of Law October 19, 2012, 12:40-2:10 P.M.

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1 SO YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE? PROGRAM University of Iowa College of Law October 19, 2012, 12:40-2:10 P.M. On October 19, 2012, the University of Iowa College of Law will host a So You Want to Be A Judge? panel from 12:40-2:10 P.M. This panel is designed to educate female law students, attorneys, and law professors about the process of becoming a state or federal judge in Iowa. This program is co-sponsored by the Infinity Project of Iowa, the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys (I.O.W.A.), and the University of Iowa College of Law. The Infinity Project was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2008 for the purpose of encouraging the appointment of more female judges, and in particular, the second female judge on the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the entire history of the Eighth Circuit, only one female judge out of 61 judges 1.6% has ever served on the court. That woman is Judge Diana Murphy, who is still an active judge on the court. She was appointed to the Eighth Circuit in Since her appointment, there have been nine other appointments to the Eighth Circuit, and none of those judges have been women. With the impending retirement of Judge Michael Melloy, there will be another vacancy on the Eighth Circuit in January, As part of their goal of increasing the appointment of women to the Eight Circuit and to all courts in Iowa, the Infinity Project and the Infinity Project of Iowa are sponsoring panels to encourage qualified women to apply for judgeships and educate those women and any men who are interested in becoming a judge about the judicial application process at the federal and state levels. I.O.W.A. and the University of Iowa College of Law also supports these goals. Panelists and Their Biographies This So You Want to Be A Judge? program will feature a number of panelists who will describe and advise the audience about the process of applying for and interviewing for a judicial seat, including any and all ethical considerations that applicants must consider. The panelists for the program include, in alphabetical order: (1) District Judge Marshal Beckelman, Sixth Judicial District of Iowa; (2) Federal Magistrate Judge Celeste Bremer, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa; (3) Martin Diaz, Esq., The Martin Diaz Law Firm and State Judicial Nominating Commission; (4) Brenna Findley, Esq., General Counsel for Governor Branstad; (5) Appellate Judge Amanda Potterfield, Iowa Court of Appeals; and (6) Federal District Judge Stephanie Rose, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Professor Angela Onwuachi-Willig will serve as the moderator for the panel. She will pose a variety of questions regarding the process of applying for a judicial seat and the ethical considerations involved in the process to the panelists. Infinity Project Director Debra Fitzpatrick (also Associate Director of the Center on Women and Public Policy) will provide a brief welcome. Judge Marsha Beckelman, of Cedar Rapids, currently serves as a District Judge for the Sixth Judicial District of Iowa. She was appointed to the bench in She earned her bachelor s degree from Illinois State University and her J.D. from the University of Iowa in She previously served as Assistant City Attorney for Hiawatha and Lisbon and was in private practice from 1988 until her appointment as District Judge in Judge Beckelman is a member of the American Bar Association, the Iowa State Bar Association, and the Linn County Bar Association, and she has served on several judicial committees. She is married with one child.

2 Judge Celeste F. Bremer currently serves as U.S. Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. She was appointed to this position in Judge Bremer received her B.A. from St. Ambrose College and her J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law. She also holds a doctorate in Adult Education from Drake University. In addition to her job as judge, she teaches for both the Federal Judicial Center and Drake University, and she is a member of the Space and Facilities Committee of the U. S. Judicial Conference. Prior to becoming a judge, she worked as a state and county prosecutor, partner in general litigation firm, and Corporate Counsel for Economy Forms Corp. and Deere & Company. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Iowa and California Bar Associations, the Federal Magistrate Judges Association, the American Judicature Society, the National Association of Women Judges, the Iowa Association of Women Attorneys, the Polk County Bar Association, the Polk County Women Attorney s Association, and the C. Edwin Moore Inn of Court Martin Diaz, of the Martin Diaz Law Firm, currently serves on the State Nominating Judicial Commission. Diaz received his B.S.B.A. in Finance from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Iowa, Minnesota the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, U.S. the District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, the U.S. District Court for Central District of Illinois, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He is a Fellow of both the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has received additional honors such as being named the National Law Journal Solo Practitioner in 2003 (Iowa) and the Reginald Heber Smith Fellow for Legal Services Corporation, Inc. Diaz also has taught numerous seminars, including a seminar entitled Ethical Consideration Regarding Retirement from or Realignment of Law Practices for the Iowa State Bar Association. Debra Fitzpatrick currently serves as the Director of the Infinity Project and Associate Director of the Center on Women and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota. She received her B.A. from the University of Minnesota and her M.A. from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. As Associate Director with the Center on Women and Public Policy, she is responsible for leading major, multi-year research projects and designing and implementing Center programs such as women legislator retreats and Front Runners: Women with Political Ambition, a peer support and training program for young women interested in electoral politics. In partnership with the Women s Foundation of Minnesota, she directs the Status of Minnesota Women project (a project that systematically examines key indicators for women and girls in Minnesota, raises public awareness of issues important to the lives of women and girls, and identifies policy solutions for decision makers). She also leads the Center s research efforts in the area of women and electoral politics, including a longitudinal study (Women s Path to Political Office) examining the effectiveness of various programs designed to elect more women and the experiences and success rates of male and female candidates for the Minnesota legislature between 1998 and Ms. Fitzpatrick has a long and successful track record managing large scale, multi-year, multi-million dollar programs and projects that include research and professional development components. Before coming to the CWPP, Ms. Fitzpatrick served as a Program Director for the Center for School Change, conducting multimillion dollar, multi-year research projects on education policy with partners such as the National Governors Association and the Gates Foundation. Before coming to the University of

3 Minnesota, Ms. Fitzpatrick worked with the Minnesota State Senate for seven years and served as the Committee Administrator for the Senate Education Committee. Brenna Findley currently serves as Legal Counsel to Iowa Governor Terry Branstad. Raised on a farm near Dexter in southwest Dallas County, she received her B.A. from Drake University and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. While in law school, she served as Symposium Editor for the University of Chicago Law School Roundtable, a law journal. Prior to her appointment as Governor Branstad s Legal Counsel, she worked at large private practice law firms in both Silicon Valley and Washington D.C., focusing on litigation and corporate work. She also served both as Chief of Staff as well as Senior Legal Advisor to Congressman Steve King, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Iowa s fifth house district. In these roles, she managed the daily operations and budget for Congressman King s six offices, all legislative and constituent services, and staff in thirty-two counties in the western part of the state. Professor Angela Onwuachi-Willig currently serves as the Charles and Marion Kierscht Professor of Law at the University of Iowa. She received her B.A. in American Studies from Grinnell College and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a Clarence Darrow Scholar and a Note Editor on the Michigan Law Review and an Associate Editor of the founding issue of the Michigan Journal of Race and Law. After law school, she clerked for Judge Solomon Oliver, now Chief U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, and Judge Karen Nelson Moore, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. She also worked as a labor and employment associate at Jones Day in Cleveland, Ohio and Foley Hoag in Boston, Massachusetts. She has received a number of honors and awards, including the Derrick A. Bell Award, election to the American Law Institute, selection as a finalist for the Iowa Supreme Court, selection as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, selection for the 2011 National Law Journal s Minority 40 under 40 List, and the University of Iowa Marion Huit Award. Judge Amanda Potterfield, of Tiffin, currently serves on the Iowa Court of Appeals. She was appointed to the Court of Appeals in She was born in Jacksonville, Florida and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida. Judge Potterfield received her bachelor s degree from Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, and her J.D. from George Washington University Law School, the National Law Center. She previously served as a criminal defense attorney for the Georgia Criminal Justice Council and, later, for Prisoners Legal Services in New York City. Also, when she moved to Iowa in 1982, she worked in the Linn County Public Defender s office. She was in private practice from before her appointment to the district court bench. Judge Potterfield is married, has one son, and nine grandchildren. Judge Stephanie M. Rose currently serves as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. She was appointed to this position in She is the first woman to be appointed as a judge on this court, which is the second time that she has made notable history in Iowa. She received both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Iowa. She previously served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. Rose was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as U.S. Attorney and was the first presidentially appointed woman to serve as a U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Iowa. Prior to being confirmed as U.S. Attorney, Rose was a career prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney s Office. During that time, she represented the United States in the prosecution of over 800 felony cases. She also had served as the Eighth Circuit representative on the Attorney General s Advisory Committee and represented small-districts on the Office and Management and Budget, the Narcotics and Asset

4 Forfeiture, and the Criminal Practice Subcommittees, as well as the Resource Allocation Working Group. Brief Description of the Panel The moderator-led session with panelists will last for one hour. Panelists responses to the moderator s questions are expected to cover their experience or experiences in applying for judicial positions, describe the various steps that applicants may take in their careers to better position themselves for obtaining a judicial position; provide information regarding the qualifications and factors that Commissioners and the Governor s Office employs in making their decisions; and address the various ethical issues that may arise during the application and nomination process and during one s actual service as a judge. Questions will include, but are not limited to, the following questions: 1. Why should a person consider a judicial career, and in particular, why should women lawyers consider applying for a judgeship? 2. Can you briefly describe the process for applying a judgeship, both state and federal? 3. What should a law student or lawyer who is interested in being a judge do in her career to best position themselves for obtaining a judgeship? In other words, what are qualities that you considering in selecting nominees for a judicial position or for appointing an individual to a judicial position? For sitting judges, what are the qualities and qualifications that you possess that you believe made you an attractive candidate for appointment? Please include in your response how considerations from the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct may have an impact on the perspectives of the Commissioners and the Governor and his staff in making final selections and appointments. 4. What are the two best tips that you would give to someone who is preparing to apply for either a state or federal judgeship? 5. What information do you wish you had known before you applied for your current judicial position or any other positions that you applied for? What was the hardest part of your transition from your previous job to a judicial position? Please include, where applicable, comments regarding withdrawal from political activities and other ethical considerations. 6. If you were an applicant today (and knowing everything that you know now due to your current position), what would give you pause about considering for a career as a judge and applying for such a position? 7. For sitting judges, what strategies do you use to ethically exist and/or respond/run against/challenge attacks during a retention election? 8. What ethical considerations should applicants be aware of as they are going through the process of applying for a judgeship, state or federal? Responses may address rules of

5 ethics such as Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 51:1.3[2], regarding reference letters from judges. 9. Do you have any final words to leave for our audience? An audience question-and-answer session will then follow for 30 minutes. The program will run from 12:40 P.M. to 2:10 P.M. on October 19, We are requesting 1.5 hours of CLE credit, including 1.5 hours of ethics credit.