Thomas D. Waterman (born 1959)
is a justice of the
Iowa Supreme Court
The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices.
The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...
.
Education
Waterman was born in
Davenport, Iowa.
He graduated from
Bettendorf High School
Bettendorf High School (BHS) is a public four-year comprehensive high school located in Bettendorf, Iowa and is part of the Bettendorf Community School District.
History
Early history
Prior to its opening in 1951, there was no high school in ...
and received a degree in history from
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
in 1981.
He then graduated
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...
in the top five percent of his class from the
University of Iowa College of Law
The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States by the '' U.S. News & World Report'' "Best Law Sch ...
in 1984.
Legal career
Waterman practiced for 27 years at the Davenport law firm Lane & Waterman LLP. He was a fourth-generation partner in the firm and specialized in
civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
trial and appellate litigation. Waterman was ranked in Band 1 for
commercial litigation by
Chambers and Partners
Chambers and Partners (often noted elsewhere as Chambers & Partners) produces international rankings for the legal industry, which is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
Orbach and Chambers
Orbach and Chambers Publishing Limited was founded ...
and was also recognized by The Best Lawyers in America.
He was also a member of the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission and the
American College of Trial Lawyers
The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially trial ...
.
Iowa Supreme Court
Waterman was one of three justices appointed by
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad
Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa f ...
in 2011. 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''. Waterman is an elected member of the
American Law Institute.
He is the second member of his family to serve on the Iowa Supreme Court after
Charles M. Waterman, who founded Lane & Waterman.
In 2019, Waterman spoke with
state Representative Steven Holt, the floor manager of a bill to modify procedures for choosing judges and the chief justice's term.
Michael Gartner
Michael Gartner (born October 25, 1938, in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American journalist, attorney and businessman. He was president of the Iowa Board of Regents.
Biography
A graduate of Carleton College and the New York University School of Law, ...
reported that the bill was a "power grab" by Waterman and his allies, who lobbied the legislature and wanted Waterman to replace
Mark Cady
Mark Steven Cady (July 12, 1953 – November 15, 2019) was an American jurist. He served on the Iowa Supreme Court for 21 years from 1998 to 2019. From 2011 to 2019, he was the chief justice of the court. He was the author of the court's opinion ...
before his term expired. Unlike Cady, Waterman refused to disclose his contacts with legislators or recuse himself in the ensuing litigation. Waterman subsequently took part in a 4-2 decision to refer the case to the
Iowa Court of Appeals
The Iowa Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Iowa. Its purpose is to review appeals from trial court decisions which are referred to the court by the Iowa Supreme Court. The court decides the vast majority of ...
, which dismissed the lawsuit 3–2 on
standing
Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...
grounds, following which the Iowa Supreme Court declined review.
References
External links
*
Ballotpedia ProfileVoteSmart Profile
1959 births
Living people
Dartmouth College alumni
Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court
People from Davenport, Iowa
University of Iowa College of Law alumni
21st-century American judges
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