Their Law

A couple of Iowa Judges have made news recently.

Chief justice worries about politics’ effect on court

After reading the article, I worry about the effect the Chief Justice Mark Cady has on Iowa because he's on the court.

In defending the Court's gay marriage decision, that he authored, Cady said religious objections to same-sex marriage are not legally sound.

“We have a law that prohibits drinking under the age of 21 … That discriminates against people based on their age,” he said. “Our Constitution doesn’t prohibit discriminatory laws; it prohibits discriminatory laws that don’t have any substantial reason for them. When the only reason to discriminate against someone is based on theology, then that reasoning can’t support it because it violates the separation of church and state. And even if we did allow it, whose religion are we going to decide it on?”

What?!?!?!

Tell me Chief Justice Cady, what is the substantial reason that 21 is the age for the National Minimum Drinking Age Act?

I'm sure Chief Justice Cady is aware that the 1984 Act established 21 as a minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcoholic beverages, not drinking them.

After the repeal of Prohibition, in 1933, the legal age in Iowa was 21.

It was lowered to 19 in 1972, lowered to 18 in 1973, then raised back to 19 in 1978 before becoming 21 in 1986.

There's some substantial reasoning and the scientific community is united in that fact.

The other newsworthy Judge is U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett.

Judge removes Iowa woman from death row

Bennett threw out Angela Johnson’s death sentence, saying her defense lawyers were “alarmingly dysfunctional”.

Wow, how did such incompetents get the job?

That would be thanks to U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett, who said he tried to assemble “dream team” of lawyers for Johnson but they performed poorly.