Rule 51:4.4 Campaign Committees

[1] Judicial candidates are prohibited from personally soliciting campaign contributions or personally accepting campaign contributions. See rule 51:4.1(A)(8). This rule recognizes that in Iowa, judges standing for retention must raise campaign funds to support their candidacies, and permits judicial candidates, other than candidates seeking appointment to judicial office, to establish campaign committees to solicit and accept reasonable financial contributions or in-kind contributions.

[2] Campaign committees may solicit and accept campaign contributions, manage the expenditure of campaign funds, and generally conduct campaigns. However, campaign committees may not solicit or accept campaign contributions from other judicial officers or from any judicial branch employee. Candidates are responsible for compliance with the requirements of election law and other applicable law, and for the activities of their campaign committees.

[3] At the start of a campaign, the candidate must instruct the campaign committee to solicit or accept only such contributions as are in conformity with Iowa election laws. Although lawyers and others who might appear before a successful candidate for judicial office are permitted to make campaign contributions, the candidate should instruct his or her campaign committee to be especially cautious in connection with such contributions, so they do not create grounds for disqualification if the candidate is retained in his or her judicial office. See rule 51:2.11.

[4] Iowa has adopted a system whereby judges periodically must stand for retention during the general election. See Iowa Code ch. 46. Iowa Code chapter 68A permits a judicial candidate to establish a candidate’s committee to support that individual’s candidacy, while section 68A.102(4) defines “candidate” so as to include “any judge standing for retention in a judicial election.” The Iowa Code, thus, envisions and creates a system allowing a judge to establish campaign committees when involved in a judicial retention election. The Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct merely implements this system, albeit in a more restrictive fashion than for those seeking political or other office.