Reynolds Taps Ex-GOP Attorney as Supreme Court Justice
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has selected Matthew McDermott as the newest member of the Iowa Supreme Court.
The West Des Moines lawyer has longtime ties to the state Republican Party. He replaces David Wiggins, a Democratic appointee who retired last month.
McDermott is the GOP governor’s fourth appointement to the state’s top court.
“Matt is a talented, smart, and astute lawyer with deep Iowa roots,” Reynolds said in a statement. “His commitment to the rule of law and passion for service will now benefit all Iowans as he joins the Iowa Supreme Court.”
McDermott served as the lawyer for the state in a contentious lawsuit filed by a labor union challenging a 2017 Republican-backed law that made sweeping changes to Iowa’s public employee collective bargaining statute.
McDermott’s team won the lawsuit and a subsequent appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, which ruled the law change was constitutional.
McDermott was also a lawyer for the Republican Party of Iowa from 2007–2012.
“I’m deeply honored by this appointment, and grateful for the confidence the governor has shown in me,” McDermott said in a statement from the Governor’s Office. “I will work every day to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and the laws of this great state, and to carry out the oath to ‘administer justice according to the law, equally’ to everyone.”
Reynolds selected McDermott from three finalists sent to her by the State Judicial Nominating Commission. The other two finalists were Mary Chicchelly, a district court judge from Cedar Rapids, and David May, an appeals court judge from Polk City.
McDermott currently practices law with Belin McCormick in Des Moines and serves as president of the Board of Directors of Iowa Legal Aid.
McDermott received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa.
The Best Lawyers in America named him its 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” in Bet-the-Company Litigation in Des Moines. His focus has been on civil and criminal trials and appeals.
This report contains material from the Associated Press.
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