Iowa Supreme Court justice asked to recuse himself from divorce appeal over alleged affair

A Des Moines man appealing the outcome of his contested divorce has asked one of the state’s Supreme Court justices to take no part in the case because he says the justice had an affair with his wife.

John Len Mordini filed an appeal Tuesday challenging the final disposition of his divorce from Nichole Miras Mordini. Alongside his appeal, he filed a motion asking Supreme Court Justice Christopher McDonald to recuse himself because, he alleges, “the extramarital affair conducted by Justice McDonald and (Nichole Mordini) had a significant negative impact on the marriage and ultimately contributed to the breakdown in the bonds of matrimony.”

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McDonald, who according to his judicial biography is also married, has granted John Mordini’s request. In an amended order filed Thursday, he wrote that there was “a personal relationship” between himself and Nichole Mordini “more than a decade ago.”

The recusal motion does not specify when the alleged affair occurred, but John Mordini said in an email the couple have been married more than 20 years.

John Mordini, who is representing himself, otherwise declined to comment to avoid jeopardizing his appeal. An attorney for Nichole Mordini also declined to comment.

An Iowa Judicial Branch spokesperson said McDonald declined to comment beyond the court filings, pointing to judicial ethics rules against judges or their staff commenting on pending cases.

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Jeremy Fogel, a retired judge and legal ethics expert with the University of California, Berkeley Law School, reviewed the filings at the Register’s request and said that Iowa, like other states, requires judges to disqualify themselves “in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

“Justice McDonald evidently determined that based on his prior relationship with Ms. Mordini and the nature of the appeal, Iowa’s version of that provision applies here. His decision to recuse isn’t an admission that he couldn’t be impartial; rather, it’s a conclusion that a reasonable person might question whether he could,” Fogel told the Register, adding that McDonald’s decision “isn’t surprising and appears to be an appropriate application of the provision.”

The pending appeal will not necessarily be decided by the Supreme Court, which refers a large share of cases to the intermediate Iowa Court of Appeals. McDonald’s recusal means he also will not be involved in deciding whether the Supreme Court should retain the appeal.

McDonald was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 2019 by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Before that, he served on the Iowa Court of Appeals and as a district judge.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.