Mark Cady, the Iowa Supreme Court’s chief justice whose decisions on gay marriage and abortion rankled conservatives, dies unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 66.
FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2016 file photo, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady delivers his Condition of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Iowa Legislature in Des Moines, Iowa. Cady’s family says in a statement posted on the court’s website that he died unexpectedly of a heart attack on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. He was 66.
Cady died unexpectedly Friday night from a heart attack, his family said in a statement posted on the court’s website.In an accompanying post, the court described him as an exceptional judge who was respected and beloved by his fellow jurists.A court spokesman, Steve Davis, said Cady was in Des Moines when he died.
“We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective,” Cady wrote for the court. The ruling angered conservatives and led to passage of a law this year that gave the governor more control over nominees to put on the courts. The law also reduced Cady’s eight-year term as chief justice by three years, forcing him to step down as chief in 2021, which would have cut his pay by about $8,000 a year.Cady sided with the majority in a 4-3 decision three years ago that barred sentences of life without parole for teenagers, finding it cruel and unusual punishment.
Governor for just over two years, Reynolds, a Republican, already has appointed two justices — one due to illness and another retirement — and now will fill another vacancy. Branstad, now U.S. ambassador to China, said in a statement that accompanied Reynolds’ that he was proud to have appointed Cady to the district court, appeals court and state Supreme Court.
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