Iowa
Judicial system
The Iowa supreme court consists of seven justices who are appointed by the governor and confirmed to eight-year terms by judicial elections held after they have served on the bench for at least one year. Judges may stand for reelection before their terms expire. The justices select one of their number as chief justice. The court exercises appellate jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases, supervises the trial courts, and prescribes rules of civil and appellate procedure. The supreme court transfers certain cases to the court of appeals, a six-member appellate court that began reviewing civil and criminal cases in 1977, and may review its decisions. Judges on the court of appeals are appointed and confirmed to six-year terms in the same manner as supreme court justices; they elect one of their members as chief judge.
The state is divided into eight judicial districts, each with a chief judge appointed to a two-year term by the chief justice of the supreme court. District court judges are appointed to six-year terms by the governor from nominations submitted by district nominating commissions. Appointees must stand for election after they have served as judges for at least one year.
Iowa Presidential Vote by Political Parties, 1948–2000
| YEAR | ELECTORAL VOTE | IOWA WINNER | DEMOCRAT | REPUBLICAN | PROGRESSIVE | PROHIBITION | SOCIALIST LABOR |
| * Won US presidential election. | |||||||
| 1948 | 10 | *Truman (D) | 522,380 | 494,018 | 12,125 | 3,382 | 4,274 |
| 1952 | 10 | *Eisenhower (R) | 451,513 | 808,906 | 5,085 | 2,882 | — |
| CONSTITUTION | |||||||
| 1956 | 10 | *Eisenhower (R) | 501,858 | 729,187 | — | — | 3,202 |
| 1960 | 10 | Nixon (R) | 550,565 | 722,381 | — | — | — |
| 1964 | 9 | *Johnson (D) | 733,030 | 449,148 | — | 1,902 | — |
| SOC. WORKERS | AMERICAN IND. | ||||||
| 1968 | 9 | *Nixon (R) | 476,699 | 619,106 | 3,377 | 66,422 | — |
| AMERICAN | PEACE AND FREEDOM | ||||||
| 1972 | 8 | *Nixon (R) | 496,206 | 706,207 | — | 22,056 | 1,332 |
| LIBERTARIAN | |||||||
| 1976 | 8 | Ford (R) | 619,931 | 632,863 | — | 3,040 | 1,452 |
| CITIZENS | |||||||
| 1980 | 8 | *Reagan (R) | 508,672 | 676,026 | 2,191 | NA | 12,324 |
| 1984 | 8 | *Reagan (R) | 605,620 | 703,088 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | 8 | Dukakis (D) | 670,557 | 545,355 | 755 | 540 | 2,494 |
| IND. (Perot) | |||||||
| 1992 | 7 | *Clinton (D) | 586,353 | 504,891 | 253,468 | 3,079 | 1,177 |
| 1996 | 7 | *Clinton (D) | 620,258 | 492,644 | 105,159 | - | 2,315 |
| REFORM | GREEN | ||||||
| 2000 | 7 | Gore (D) | 638,517 | 634,373 | 5,731 | 29,374 | 3,209 |
As of June 2001 there were 8,101 prisoners in federal and state institutions, an increase of 6.0% from the previous year. The state's incarceration rate stood at 277 per 100,000 inhabitants. Iowa's total crime rate in 2001 was 3,301.2 per 100,000 population, including a total of 7,865 violent crimes and 88,634 crimes against property in that year.
Iowa does not have a death penalty.