602.6403  Appointment, qualification, and resignation of magistrates.
  1.  By June 1 of each year in which magistrates’ terms expire, the county magistrate appointing commission shall appoint, except as otherwise provided in section 602.6302, the number of magistrates apportioned to the county by the state court administrator under section 602.6401, the number of magistrates required pursuant to substitution orders in effect under section 602.6303, and may appoint an additional magistrate when allowed by section 602.6402. The commission shall not appoint more magistrates than are authorized for the county by this article.
  2.  The magistrate appointing commission for each county shall prescribe the contents of an application, in addition to any application form provided by the supreme court, for an appointment pursuant to this section. The commission shall publicize notice of any vacancy to be filled in at least two publications in all official county newspapers in the county. The commission shall accept applications for a minimum of fifteen days prior to making an appointment, and shall make available during that period of time any printed application forms the commission prescribes.
  3.  Within thirty days following receipt of notification of a vacancy in the office of magistrate, the commission shall appoint a person to the office to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. For purposes of this section, vacancy means a death, resignation, retirement, or removal of a magistrate, or an increase in the number of positions authorized.
  4.  The term of office of a magistrate is four years, commencing August 1, 1989. However, the terms of all magistrates in a county are deemed to expire if a substitution under section 602.6302 or the allocation under section 602.6401 results in a reduction in the number of magistrates in a county where the magistrates hold office.
  5.  The commission shall promptly certify the names and addresses of appointees to the clerk of the district court and to the chief judge of the judicial district. The clerk of the district court shall certify to the state court administrator the names and addresses of these appointees.
  6.  Before assuming office, a magistrate shall subscribe and file in the office of the state court administrator the oath of office specified in section 63.6.
  7.  Before the commencement of the term of a magistrate, the members of the magistrate appointing commission may reconsider the appointment. Written notification of the reasons for reconsideration and time and place for the meeting must be sent to the magistrate appointee and the clerk of the district court. The commission may reconvene and decertify the magistrate appointee for good cause. Notice of the decertification and a statement of the reasons justifying the decertification shall be promptly sent to the clerk of the district court, the chief judge of the judicial district, and the state court administrator.
  8.  Annually, the state court administrator shall cause a school of instruction to be conducted for magistrates, and each magistrate shall attend prior to the time of taking office unless excused by the chief justice for good cause. A magistrate appointed to fill a vacancy shall attend the first school of instruction that is held following the appointment, unless excused by the chief justice for good cause.
  9.  A magistrate who seeks to resign from the office of magistrate shall notify in writing the chief judge of the judicial district as to the magistrate’s intention to resign and the effective date of the resignation. The chief judge of the judicial district, upon receipt of the notice, shall notify the county magistrate appointing commission and the state court administrator of the vacancy in the office of magistrate due to resignation.
83 Acts, ch 186, §7403, 10201; 89 Acts, ch 114, §3, 4; 89 Acts, ch 212, §3, 4; 90 Acts, ch 1168, §59; 98 Acts, ch 1115, §14, 15; 2003 Acts, ch 151, §43, 64; 2006 Acts, ch 1060, §5