A bipartisan group of Iowa legislators has formed a Lawyer Caucus in the Iowa legislature.
Republican House member Jon Jacobsen founded the group and is co-chair along with Democrat House member Brian Meyer.
The Lawyer Caucus includes Republican and Democrat attorneys who serve in the Iowa legislature in an effort to harness their legal expertise for drafting improved legislation for the common good in Iowa.
Many of the bills the group works on are considered “non-controversial.”
Considering the role of the legislature — to make laws — the group sees itself as a key cog in the process as “doctors of the law” who have the education and experience to word legislation in ways that increase clarity, comprehension and cogency.
Some laws contain good intentions, but subpar drafting leads to ambiguity, unintended consequences and errors that lead to unconstitutionality.
Lawyers in their respective caucus also help in shedding light on education involving separation of powers, duties of the respective legislative and government branch bodies, constitutional mandates of office and formal ethical duties of legislators as fiduciaries of their constituents.
The Lawyer Caucus represents the resources, knowledge and understanding of 10,000 practicing lawyers across Iowa in every county.
There are about a dozen lawyers serving in the Iowa House of Representatives.
