IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Judicial Branch has started tracking legal deadlines for judge appointments amid uncertainty over whether Gov. Kim Reynolds made two picks on time.
The governor has 30 days to appoint a judge once finalists have been submitted by a nominating commission. After that, the authority falls to the chief justice. The requirement has come into focus after the liberal blog Bleeding Heartland reported that Reynolds informed Judge Jason Besler of his appointment days after the deadline. An attorney has filed a complaint alleging Besler is unlawfully holding office.
Now questions are being raised about the June 21 appointment of Judge Michael Jacobsen.

A nominating commission signed a letter addressed to Reynolds 35 days earlier, on May 17, recommending Jacobsen and another attorney. But the letter apparently was never sent, and the commission chair waited until May 22 to email the names to the governor’s office. Jacobsen was appointed 30 days later. Davis says the court system is now formally tracking submission dates, which it didn’t do previously.