In an instructive judicial retention election in Iowa, three state supreme court justices were recalled by voters who reacted negatively to the court’s ruling last year approving same-sex marriages, overturning a state law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Interestingly, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal had much different views on this result, the former condemning it as a “chilling message” to judges and the latter applauding it as a boost for the priority of the law over the personal policy preferences of judges. The WSJ is on the right side here; social legislation should be left to legislators.
