Christopher McDonald (jurist)

Christopher McDonald (born 1974) is an Associate Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court.

Christopher McDonald
Associate Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
Assumed office
February 20, 2019
Appointed byKim Reynolds
Preceded byDaryl Hecht
Judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals
In office
September 2013 – February 20, 2019
Appointed byTerry Branstad
Personal details
Born1974 (age 45–46)
Bangkok, Thailand
EducationGrand View University (B.A.)
University of Iowa College of Law (J.D.)

Education

McDonald was born in Bangkok, Thailand.[1] McDonald started college at the University of Iowa, but left after a year to teach policy debate at Abraham Lincoln High School in Des Moines.[2] He later received an undergraduate degree from Grand View University and a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.[3] At Iowa Law, he was an editor of the Iowa Law Review, graduated with highest distinction as valedictorian, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.[2]

After graduation, McDonald served as a law clerk to Judge David R. Hansen of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.[4] He then practiced at the Des Moines office of Faegre & Benson from 2003 to 2006 before leaving for the Des Moines-based firm Belin McCormick P.C., where he practiced from 2006 to 2010 and was a partner. At both firms, he practiced civil litigation, internal investigations, and employment law.[2] He was then senior litigation counsel at Aviva in Des Moines from 2010 to 2012.[2]

State judicial service

McDonald served as a trial judge of Iowa's Fifth Judicial District from 2012 to 2013.[2] Terry Branstad appointed him to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2013 and he served in that capacity until his appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court.[3]

Appointment to Iowa Supreme Court

McDonald first applied for a vacancy on the Supreme Court upon the retirement of Justice Bruce B. Zager.[5] That vacancy was ultimately filled by Susan Christensen. In January 2019 McDonald once again applied, and was among three nominees sent to the governor to fill the vacancy created by Justice Daryl Hecht who retired in December 2018.[6] On February 20, 2019, Governor Kim Reynolds announced McDonald as her appointment to the Supreme Court. He is the first minority or person of color appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court.[7][1]

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References
  1. Price, Dave (2019-02-21). "From Thailand to the South Side of Des Moines: Iowa Judge About to Make History". whotv.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  2. McDonald, Christopher (2019). "State Judicial Nominating Commission Application". Scribd. Archived from the original on 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  3. Mitchell, Andy (2019-02-21). "Law-school alum heads to Iowa Supreme Court". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  4. "Christopher McDonald". www.iowacourts.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  5. Gruber-Miller, Stephern (2018-07-06). "Iowa has the only all-male supreme court in the country. Could that change this year?". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  6. Lynch, James Q. "Three nominated for Iowa Supreme Court vacancy". The Gazette. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  7. Murphy, Erin (2019-02-20). "First minority named to Iowa Supreme Court". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Daryl Hecht		 Associate Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
2019–present		 Incumbent
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