David Wiggins (born October 19, 1951) is a former Justice of the
Iowa Supreme Court.
Education
Wiggins was born in
Chicago and graduated from
Niles East High School.
He was the first in his family to attend college and received a bachelor's degree from the
University of Illinois at Chicago in 1973.
He then attended
Drake University Law School While there, he was an associate editor of the ''
Drake Law Review
Drake University Law School is a professional graduate law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 330 full-time students. The school is led by Dean Jerry Anderson. Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of t ...
''. He graduated with honors and
Order of the Coif in 1976.
Legal career
Wiggins began his career with the
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
based firm Williams, Hart, Lavorato & Kirtley.
He made
partner
Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to:
Books
* ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997
* ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928
* ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart
* ''Partner'' (m ...
in 1979.
The firm was eventually renamed Wiggins, Anderson, & Tully.
As a private practitioner, Wiggins served on the Iowa Commission on Judicial Qualifications, the Supreme Court Advisory Commission on Judicial Redistricting, the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Supreme Court Committee on the Cost of Litigation.
Wiggins also served on the Board of Governors of the
Iowa State Bar Association
The Iowa State Bar Association is a voluntary bar association for the state of Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River ...
, was president of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, was senior counsel for the American College of Barristers, and was master emeritus of the C. Edwin Moore American Inns of Court.
Iowa Supreme Court
He was appointed by Governor Tom Vilsack to the Supreme Court in 2003.
He was the first Jewish Justice on the Iowa Supreme Court. As the senior Associate Justice, Wiggins chaired the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission from 2011 until Kim Reynolds changed the Commission's structure to remove him as the chair and strengthen the governor's control of the committee. Following the death of Chief Justice Mark Cady, Wiggins was acting Chief Justice from November 21, 2019 to February 24, 2020. While serving as Chief Justice, Wiggins announced his intention to retire on March 13, 2020.
2012 retention
Wiggins' term was scheduled to end on December 31, 2012.
Wiggins had supported the 2009 ''Varnum v. Brien'' which declared the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. In the 2010 election, three justices who had supported the decision were ousted, and Wiggins faced a major retention fight in 2012.
Wiggins was retained in 2012 with 54.61% of the vote.
References
External links
*
Ballotpedia ProfileVoteSmart Profile
1951 births
21st-century American judges
Iowa lawyers
Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court
Lawyers from Chicago
Living people
University of Illinois Chicago alumni
Drake University Law School alumni
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