DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa Court of Appeals judge has been named by Gov. Kim Reynolds as the newest justice on the Iowa Supreme Court.
Judge Christopher McDonald said Wednesday he will move to the state’s highest court in the next few weeks.
Born in Thailand to a Vietnamese mother and a Scottish/Irish father, McDonald says he embraces the expectations placed on him as the court’s first minority.
McDonald, who is 44, is Reynolds’ second supreme court appointment and lets the conservative Republican governor replace a Democratic governor’s appointee. Justice Daryl Hecht, who retired in December, was appointed by Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2006.
Reynolds and McDonald took no questions at the announcement.
The appointment comes as legislators consider a bill supported by Reynolds that would reshape the way judges are selected by giving legislative leaders greater control over appointments to a judicial nominating commission.
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