Governor Kim Reynolds has appointed a northwest Iowa judge to the state’s second highest court. John Sandy of Spirit Lake started his interview with the commission that nominated him for the court of appeals by talking about his great grandfather.
“I sit before you now the great grandson of a dirt poor coal miner from Italy,” he said. “…That’s the story of America. That’s the story of Iowa.”
Sandy earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He served as a public defender for the State of Minnesota before joining the family-owned Sandy Law Firm in Spirit Lake. He stressed his work as a trial lawyer during his interview for the court of appeals post.
“It’s been said that rough seas make a smooth sailor. I’ve sailed the rough seas,” Sandy said. “I’ve said across from human beings who have struggled and endured unimaginable tragedy, trauma, and I’ve brought them through the courtroom to a jury verdict. They’ve entrusted me.”
Sandy described himself as a team player while serving the past three and a half years as a district court judge in 10 northwest Iowa counties. “I don’t have sharp elbows,” Sandy said. “…I don’t like drama. I try to avoid it, if possible. That, more than ever right now, is needed on the court of appeals.”
The chief judge on the Iowa Court of Appeals retired in June and Sandy fills that vacancy. Sandy and the other judges on the court of appeals will vote for a new chief, who’ll serve a two-year term.
