District Court Judge John Sandy in the Iowa Supreme Court chamber for his interview with the Judicial Nominating Commission
Spirit Lake, Iowa — 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.
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.
Sandy describes himself as a team player while serving the past three and a half years as a district court judge in 10 northwest Iowa counties.
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.
