Edward Mansfield
Associate Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
Assumed office
February 23, 2011
Appointed byTerry Branstad
Preceded byMichael Streit
Judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals
In office
2009 – February 23, 2011
Appointed byChet Culver
Personal details
Born (1957-01-12) January 12, 1957 (age 67)
Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Edward M. Mansfield (born January 12, 1957) is a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court.[1]

Education

Mansfield grew up in Massachusetts.[2] His mother was a refugee from the Soviet Union.[3] He graduated from Harvard College, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in 1978 and Yale Law School in 1982.[4][5] During law school, Mansfield worked at the Boston office of Sullivan & Worcester and at the Los Angeles office of O'Melveny & Myers. He declined offers from both firms to join them permanently.[5]

Career

After law school Mansfield clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit before entering private practice.[1] From 1983 to 1996, he practiced at Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie in Phoenix, Arizona, where he became a partner in 1988.[5] He then moved to Des Moines for his wife's career and was a litigator at Belin McCormick P.C. from 1996 to 2009.[6][3] In 1997, Mansfield started teaching as an adjunct professor at Drake University. He has also served as the chairperson of the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa.[1]

Judicial career

State court of appeals service

Mansfield was appointed by Chet Culver to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2009.[1]

Iowa Supreme Court

Mansfield was one of three justices appointed by Governor Terry Branstad in 2011.[7] In November 2010, Iowa voters had removed all three justices seeking reelection in response to the court unanimously legalizing same-sex marriage in Varnum v. Brien.[8]

In 2012, Mansfield authored an opinion for the court which found a dentist did not commit gender discrimination when, at the insistence of his wife, he fired a dental assistant to whom he was sexually attracted.[9][10] In 2016, Mansfield dissented when the Court found that the Iowa Constitution categorically prohibited life without parole for juveniles who committed first degree murder.[7]

In September 2016, Mansfield was named as a possible nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Hon. Edward M. Mansfield". American Law Institute. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  2. ^ "Iowa Supreme Court finalists McDermott, Chicchelly, and May, in their own words". Bleeding Heartland. March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Iowa Voters Judicial Directory" (PDF). Iowa Judicial Branch. August 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "Gov. Culver appoints attorney to Iowa Court of Appeals". Globe Gazette | Mason City, Iowa | globegazette.com. January 15, 2009. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Mansfield, Edward (2011). "Questionnaire". Iowa Judicial Watch.
  6. ^ "Edward Mansfield". VoteSmart. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Branstad names Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Edward Mansfield to the Iowa Supreme Court". Office of the Governor of Iowa. February 23, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  8. ^ A.G. Sulzberger (November 3, 2010). "Ouster of Iowa Judges Sends Signal to Bench". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Nelson v. Knight, No. 11-1857 (Iowa Dec. 21, 2012).
  10. ^ "Iowa Supreme Court: OK to fire 'irresistible' worker". CNN.com. December 22, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  11. ^ Flores, Reena (September 23, 2016). "Donald Trump will expand list of possible Supreme Court picks". CBS News. Retrieved September 23, 2016 – via MSN.

External links

Legal offices Preceded byMichael Streit Associate Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court 2011–present Incumbent


Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court
Statewide political officials of Iowa
Categories