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Shall Lawrence P. McLellan be retained in office as a District 5C District Judge?

Unofficial result: Won — Lawrence P. McLellan (Nonpartisan)

Source: electionresults.iowa.gov

Polk County, Iowa
Retention race

What does this office do?

  • Deciding trials in the county
  • Ruling on evidence and setting sentences in criminal cases
  • Deciding family, probate, and civil disputes

Affects: Public Safety and Crime Control, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, Housing Affordability,

Lawrence P. McLellan

Nonpartisan · Incumbent · Official site

Lawrence P. McLellan has been a district court judge in Polk County since 2012. Before that, he clerked for a federal judge and spent nearly 30 years at Des Moines law firms handling civil lawsuits and mediation.

Track record

Track record — General

General · 5 records

  • The Iowa Supreme Court reversed his order in Vaccaro v. Polk County, an open records case. He had ordered the county to share police investigation records before deciding if they were confidential.

    December 16, 2022

    Source: iowacourts.gov

  • Refused to drop Governor Kim Reynolds from former health department spokesperson Polly Carver-Kimm's firing lawsuit. He ruled Iowa's open records law protects workers who fill records requests.

    December 22, 2021

    Source: bleedingheartland.com

  • Voters in Polk County kept him as a district judge in the 2020 retention vote, with 70.0% voting yes (107,677 yes to 46,098 no).

    November 3, 2020

    Source: sos.iowa.gov

  • Voters in Polk County kept him as a district judge in the 2014 retention vote, with 71.6% voting yes (74,399 yes to 29,555 no).

    November 4, 2014

    Source: sos.iowa.gov

  • Governor Terry Branstad appointed him a district court judge for Polk County (District 5C). He filled the seat of retiring Judge Donna Paulsen.

    July 20, 2012

    Source: rcreader.com

Track record — Legal Competence

Legal Competence · 2 favorable

  • In the Iowa State Bar Association's 2020 lawyer survey, 99% of the 199 lawyers who rated him said he should be kept as a judge.

    September 28, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

    Source: nebula.wsimg.com

  • In the Iowa State Bar Association's 2014 lawyer survey, 97% of the 146 lawyers who rated him said he should be kept as a judge.

    October 1, 2014Favorable on Legal Competence

    Source: s3.amazonaws.com

Sources: polkcountyiowa.gov2