Daryl L. Hecht (June 25, 1952 – April 3, 2019) was a justice on the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

and president of Iowa Trial Lawyers Association.Iowa Judicial Branch page for Daryl L. Hecht
, accessed September 18, 2017.

Early life and education

Raised on a

family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family. It is sometimes considered to be an Estate (land), estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual model, conceptual and archetype, archet ...

near

Lytton, Iowa Lytton is a city in Sac County and has grown into Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 282 at the time of the 2020 census. Geography Lytton is located at (42.424360, -94.859129). According to the United States Census ...

, Hecht received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in history and political science from Morningside College in 1974 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of South Dakota School of Law The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school ...

in 1977. Hecht worked in private practice in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

for 22 years. His practice included plaintiff civil litigation, workers' compensation, and appeals.

State judicial service

In 1999 Hecht was appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals by Governor

Tom Vilsack Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2017, during the Obama administration, and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Biden admi ...

. In 2004, Hecht received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

. On August 1, 2006, Hecht was appointed by Governor Vilsack to the

. He succeeded Chief Justice Louis A. Lavorato upon Lavorato's retirement and joined the Supreme Court on September 30, 2006. In August 2017, he was retained in a retention election with 64% of the vote. Hecht continued to live in Sioux City as a judge on the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Hecht worked on civil justice reform with the Institute for the Advancement of the Legal System, the National Center for State Courts, and the Conference of Chief Justices. Hecht, through a press release from the Iowa Judicial Branch on November 16, 2018, announced his retirement from the court due to his battle with

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the Human skin, skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells (biology), cells that have the ability to invade or metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. It occurs when skin cells grow ...

. His resignation took effect December 13, 2018.

Death

Hecht died on April 3, 2019, at the age of 66 from

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. Hecht and his wife Sandy had two daughters.

References

External links

Ballotpedia Profile

VoteSmart Profile
1952 births 2019 deaths Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court Morningside University alumni People from Sioux City, Iowa University of South Dakota School of Law alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni 21st-century American judges Iowa lawyers People from Sac County, Iowa Deaths from skin cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Iowa 20th-century Iowa state court judges 20th-century American lawyers {{Iowa-state-judge-stub