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KLMNO Foes of same-sex marriage target judges iowa from A1
probably will go to the U.S. Supreme Court. His announce- ment further fueled the emotion- al debate over the topic, given his stature in theGOP and his earlier involvement in efforts to mobi- lize voters by exploiting opposi- tion to same-sexmarriage. The effort in Iowa worries not
only gay rights advocates but also some legal experts, who say it is wrong to punish judges for an unpopular decision. For crit- ics of judicial elections, Iowa is offering a compelling example of the peril of subjecting judges to voters’ whims. Backers of the campaign say
they are simply exercising their democratic right to rein in a judiciary that has overstepped its authority on same-sex mar- riage and other issues. Vander Plaats, who lost in the
June gubernatorial primary, an- nounced thismonth the creation of Iowa for Freedom, which has rented office space and hired six full-time staff members. The group plans to act like any other political campaign,withmailers, phone calls and door-knocking, Vander Plaats said. “We’ve got a campaign to get
rid of these judges. What do you think of that?” he called out to a man in a gray trucker hat at the fair. The man jerked his thumb as if to say, “They’re out of here.” For the judges, the question of
how to respond is tricky. State law says they can campaign for retention, but how they go about it is extremely restricted by the judicial code of conduct. So far, none of the three judges has set up a campaign committee. The movement supporting
same-sex marriage has had its greatest success in the court- room. Shortly before the ruling in California, a federal judge in Massachusetts invalidated the federal government’s ban on rec- ognizing same-sex unions. Gay rights groups have been
less successful in the voting booth; in every state where the issue has been put on the ballot, voters have agreed to define marriage as exclusively between aman and a woman. Last year, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s
DAVID PURDY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
BobVander Plaats, left, an Iowa politician, shakes the hand of voter Charlie Romstad after persuading him to join him in his effort to try to oust three state Supreme Court judges who ruled in favor of same- sex marriage.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010
Kepler craft discovers a multi-planet star system
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has
discovered the first confirmed planetary systemwithmore than one planet “transiting,” or cross- ing in front of, a central star. The findings, published in
Thursday’s issue of the journal Science, came from observing about 156,000 stars for seven months as part of a pioneering search for Earth-size planets out- side our solar system. Kepler’s ultra-precise camera
measures tiny decreases in a star’s brightness caused by the orbiting of the planet as it crosses in front of its sun. The size of the planets can be determined by measuring these temporary dips. Two planets in the newly dis-
covered system, 2,000 light-years away, are the size of Saturn, and a third possible planet is a “super- Earth,” 11/2
times the size of our
planet. That planet is the size thought to be potentially habit- able, but it orbits too close to its star to support life. In June, scientists submitted
ruling that the state’s lawbarring the recognition of same-sexmar- riage violated the Iowa Constitu- tion. It was a major victory for gay rights groups, in part be- cause Iowa is the only Midwest- ern state to allow same-sex cou- ples to legally wed, joining four other states and the District of Columbia. Supporters note that ousting
the judges would not change the ruling. Nevertheless, they see it as a symbolic threat and have begun reaching out to voters. “I think those opponents of
same-sex marriage are going to grab hold of this and run with it, and it will be a big battle ax that they can shake around and say, ‘You’re next,’ ” said Carolyn S. Jenison, executive director of One Iowa, a gay advocacy group. The controversy has drawn
the attention of the Iowa Bar Association and legal experts around the country, including former U.S. Supreme Court jus- tice SandraDayO’Connor,who is slated to address thematter at an event here next month. O’Con- nor for years has spoken out
against the judicial elections, arguing that they create “politi- cians in robes.” Critics of judicial elections
have given Iowa high marks because judges are appointed through a merit-based system. By contrast, prospective judges in Alabama and some other states must raise money and campaign like political candi- dates. In Iowa, judges are initially
appointed by the governor from a pool of candidates rated on their merits by a recommended by committee. They are then reconfirmed by voters every few years—a provision included as a safety valve in case of gross misconduct. Judges are rarely removed
through retention elections. Four Iowa lower court judges, and no Supreme Court judges, have been ousted this way since the state adopted the system in 1962, experts said. A handful of judges in other states have lost their retention elections because of issue-based campaigns, nota- bly over the death penalty.
Three of the court’s seven
judges are on the ballot this year: Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, Justice Michael Streit and Jus- tice David Baker. They have not spoken out on behalf of them- selves. Former Supreme Court justice
Mark McCormick has been an ardent defender. “I’ve used the word ‘ven-
geance’ before in describing what this campaign is about,” saidMcCormick, nowa lawyer in private practice. “I think it is a challenge to judicial indepen- dence. There’s an effort being made to succeed in turning out of office these three good judges for an inappropriate reason.” He and others worry that it
will politicize Iowa’s court sys- tem and have a chilling effect on judges nationwide. That does not bother Vander
Plaats, who has tried to broaden his message beyond same-sex marriage and tap into a growing concern over judicial activism and government overreach. At the state fair, this was the argument that most animated
his supporters, who sought him out in a sweltering corner be- neath the grandstand. This pas- sionate backing worries the judges’ defenders, because a small number of voters could make a difference in what is expected to be a low-turnout election. Standing in front of a table set
up by a conservative Christian group, he told Des Moines resi- dent Charlie Romstad, 55, that gun rights, property rights and “any freedom you hold dear — if you let them do this, it’s up for grabs.” Romstad nodded vigor- ously. Romstad later said that he supports civil unions but oppos- es same-sexmarriage and that he thinks ousting the judges would put the courts — and Iowa — in their place. “It seems as though Iowa has
this tendency to try to play with the big boys, show an example to the world like California or Tex- as,” Romstad said. “I think that’s what these judges tried to do with their opinion. But that’s just not Iowa.”
sandhya@washpost.com
findings for peer review that identified more than 700 poten- tial planet candidates detected in the first 43days ofKepler’splanet search. The data included five additional candidate systems that appear to exhibit more than one transiting planet. Kepler’s results are tested by
ground-based telescopes that use a different method of determin- ing if planets are present. If confirmed, the Earth-size
planet would be the first of its kind found by Kepler, a one-ton spacecraft launched in the spring. Earlier this week, a Euro- pean team using ground-based telescopes and spectrographs de- tected a planet that might be even smaller, with a mass only 1.4 times that of Earth. It is circling a star 127 light-years away. The Kepler telescope observes
star systems and their possible planetsmany times before deter- mining whether exoplanets are present. As a result, Kepler’s full capabilities and successes won’t be known formonths or years. — Marc Kaufman
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