Brent R. Appel (born July 13, 1950) is an American attorney, politician, and jurist serving as a Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Appel was previously an attorney in the office of the Attorney General of Iowa and was a candidate for a seat in the Iowa General *embly.

Contents

• 1 Early life and education
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 Iowa Supreme Court
• 3 Personal life
• 4 References
• 5 External links

Early life and education

Appel is a native of Dubuque, Iowa. He graduated from Stanford University with concurrent Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in history in 1973. He earned his Juris Doctor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1977. At Berkeley, he was an editor of the California Law Review and won the McBaine Moot Court.

Career

After graduating from law school, Appel clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Appel was then First *istant Attorney General of Iowa from 1979 to 1983 and deputy Attorney General from 1983 until 1987. While working at the Iowa Attorney General's Office, he argued four cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, including Nix v. Williams and Nix v. Whiteside.

From 1987 to 2006, Appel worked in private practice in Des Moines, including at the law firms Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagan P.C. and Wandro, Baer, Appel & Casper P.C. He specialized in commercial litigation, employment law, and personal injury.

Appel unsuccessfully ran once for the Iowa General *embly as a Democratic candidate.

Iowa Supreme Court

Appel was nominated by Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for a term starting in 2006 to succeed James H. Carter on the Iowa Supreme Court.

In 2010, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Appel to a six-year term as a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence.

Personal life

Appel's wife, Staci Appel, is a former member of the Iowa Senate from the 37th district. She was the Democratic nominee for Iowa's 3rd congressional district in 2014. Appel has six children.

References

External links

• Iowa Judicial Branch page for Brent R. Appel
• Ballotpedia Profile
• VoteSmart Profile