Branstad Asks State Supreme Court to Stop Trial

Monday, June 10, 2019 | 0

The legal team for former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad asked the state Supreme Court to halt a civil trial against him that's now in its third day, charging that the judge is improperly allowing the plaintiff to introduce the state Republican Party's stance on gay marriage and other issues.

Terry Branstad

Branstad is being sued by former Iowa workers' compensation commissioner Chris Godfrey, who alleges that Branstad singled him out and cut his salary in 2010 because Godfrey is gay. On Thursday, Branstad's lawyer, Frank Harty, filed the unusual request with the high court, according to a news report.

Harty said in opening arguments in the trial this week that Branstad did not realize that Godfrey is gay, but that the newly elected governor was simply trying to surround himself with state officials of similar political views.

Godfrey, who is now chief judge over federal comp claims in Washington, was appointed to the Iowa comp commission by Democratic governors and had served only one year of his six-year term when Branstad asked him to step down in 2010.

In the discrimination lawsuit trial, Godfrey's lawyer this week brought up Branstad's stand on gay marriage as well as the Republican Party's “anti-gay” views. Branstad's lawyer's filing with the state Supreme Court argues that allowing that tactic is unconstitutional.