Marsha Ternus
Former Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
EDUCATION
Undergraduate
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. B.A. with Honors and with High Distinction 1972. Phi Beta Kappa.
Law School
Drake University Law School, Des Moines, Iowa. J.D. with Honors 1977. Order of the Coif.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
2011-present
Private practice of law in Des Moines, Iowa, focusing on trial and appellate case consulting, Title IX adjudications, and arbitration. Assists attorneys with appeals, offering discrete task services such as issue identification and framing, review and analysis of appellate briefing, drafting of brief points, and advising on effective oral arguments. Also assists attorneys with trial court proceedings, offering discrete task services including analysis of legal issues and drafting of briefs. Serves as an expert on issues of Iowa law, legal ethics, attorney conduct, and insurance coverage and bad faith. Also, acts as an adjudicator and appellate officer in higher education sexual misconduct (Title IX) cases and as an arbitrator.
Principal in Iowa Arbitrators, an entity that facilitates the engagement of experienced neutrals to resolve disputes through arbitration.
1993-2010
Justice on the Iowa Supreme Court (served as chief justice from 2006 – 2010)
1977-1993
Private practice of law with the law firm of Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave in Des Moines, Iowa. Worked primarily in areas of civil litigation (including personal injury, medical and dental malpractice, and products liability) and insurance law, developing particular expertise in appellate work and insurance coverage and bad faith law.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AWARDS, AND RECOGNITIONS
Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame (2015)
John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award (2012)
Business Record Women of Influence (2009)
PUBLICATIONS
“Politics on the Bench—A Judge’s View of Partisanship at Play,” Nat’l L. J. (January 20, 2014).
“Do Americans Still Value an Independent Judiciary?” THE BOOK OF THE STATES 200 (2011), click here to navigate to publication.
Over 400 opinions authored as a member of the Iowa Supreme Court.