election is eight years. A justice must retire upon reaching the age of 72. The justices elect the chief justice. Terms end on December 31 of the year listed. Notable decisions In re Ralph, a colored man In re Ralph, a colored man, July 4, 1839 was the first reported decision in the Supreme Court of the Territory of Iowa, a federal court with jurisdiction similar to what would eventually be the Iowa Supreme Court when Iowa achieved statehood. It was decided twenty six years before the 13th Amendment, eighteen years before Dred Scott, and seven years before Iowa would be granted statehood. A black man from Missouri, Ralph, was allowed to travel to Iowa to work, in an attempt to purchase his freedom. When Ralph was unable to obtain the amount needed, the slave owner sent bounty hunters to return Ralph to Missouri. The opinion denied the slave owner while giving Ralph his freedom, expounding that the law “extend[s] equal protection to men of all colors and conditions”. Clark v. The Board of Directors In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court decided Clark v. Board of School Directors, ruling that racially segregated "separate but equal" schools had no place in Iowa, 86 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision. Arabella Mansfield In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law, with the Court ruling that women may not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa and admitting Arabella Mansfield to the practice of law. Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co. The Court heard Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co. in 1873, ruling against racial discrimination in public accommodations 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision. Varnum v. Brien On April 3, 2009, in Varnum v. Brien, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously struck down a statutory same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional, joining the highest judicial bodies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, and Hawaii as the fifth court to rule for the right of same-sex marriage under the state constitution. At the next judicial retention election in 2010, voters removed all three justices facing a retention vote. It was the first time any Iowa Supreme Court justice had been removed by voters. Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, Justice Michael Streit, and Justice David L. Baker each received support from 45% or less