This summer, Judge John Sandy ’07, ’10 J.D. begins his one-year term as president of the University of St. Thomas School of Law’s Alumni Board.
"I’m honored to lead the St. Thomas Law alumni board and excited to serve a community so deeply rooted in mission and purpose," said Sandy.
Judge Sandy was appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2024, having previously served as a district judge in Northwest Iowa. Prior to the bench, Sandy worked as a public defender for the State of Minnesota. He was also a partner in his family’s law firm in Spirit Lake, Iowa, where he grew up and where he now lives with wife Elizabeth and four children: John, Thomas, Charles and Claire.
Before choosing the law, Sandy studied to be a Catholic priest at Saint John Vianney (SJV) College Seminary, while also an undergraduate student at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.
“I have always wanted to help folks in a meaningful way,” Sandy said. “Helping the sick, the abandoned, the marginalized was always a calling. Over time I came to discern that such could occur as a lawyer.”
He has not only carried out his desire to make a difference throughout his career, he is also committed to giving back to the legal profession and his community. Sandy started a drug court program for his area and served as a board member of the Iowa Judge’s Association. He is on the board of his town’s museum and historical society, and a homeless shelter. Sandy was also a board member and trustee of a local hospital before becoming a judge.
Further, Sandy is active in his faith community. He volunteers at his parish, served as a board member of the Iowa Catholic Conference and helped to found Catholic Passage, an organization that plans events for and offers resources to parents and educators who want to pass on the Catholic faith to their children and students.
Sandy recently spoke with us to share more about his career, influences and life since law school.
Other than your desire to help people, were there other influences that pushed you toward a career in the law?
My parents are both attorneys and I have always had great respect for them. Living in a smaller community, people I would interact with—especially as I aged—would mention my parents’ work. It made for many uncomfortably awkward moments as well as moments of great pride.
Beyond my parents, I have always been a student of history and a lover of literature. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite novels. Harper Lee’s portrayal of Atticus Finch’s rigid commitment to justice resonated with me.
And then John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Samuel Chase and other founding fathers who studied and practiced law. I fondly recall a high school lecture reciting John Adam’s impassioned closing argument in defense of the British soldiers in the 1770 Boston Massacre trials. The irony of that never left me. Here, a man well respected as a learned statesman, a patriot and eventual founder of our country, took on the unpopular representation of “the enemy” because no one else would. And he obtained an acquittal no less.
What’s something you learned at St. Thomas that you carry with you even today?
Although my graduation from both undergrad and law school pre-dated Pope Francis’ election, he frequently talked about creating a “culture of encounter.”
Looking back at my time at St. Thomas that is exactly what was instilled at both SJV and law school—a culture of encounter. Why must one encounter the other? Because faith is an encounter with Jesus and we must do what Jesus does—encounter others. In so doing, a culture of friendship with those who think and believe differently than us occurs. In those encounters we are more keenly made aware that—in all of our differences—we share at least one thing in common: Imago Dei. This awareness instills a recognition of the dignity of the human person. I try to bring that awareness to the workplace to create environments where individuals feel valued, respected, and empowered regardless of what background they come from.
Do you have a favorite law school memory?
Taking Professor Michael Paulsen’s Constitutional Law II class was eye opening for me not only because it helped flame my love for our Constitution but validated that I was “intelligent enough” to write about it. The greatest lesson learned from that class was that the Constitution is not what nine judges declare it to be, but what the citizenry says it is. It is the people who give meaning and value to the words in their constitution.
What are you most looking forward to as president of the Law Alumni Board?
I do not live nor practice in Minnesota, let alone the metro. Thus, I hope that I can focus on strengthening connections across state lines and supporting the next generation of servant leaders. I look forward to building on the values that make our law school truly exceptional.
How do you manage your stress and prioritize wellness?
Two things. I hired a nutrition coach, not necessarily to “lose weight” but as a way of monitoring what and how much I put in my body. I track my food with MyFitnessPal. I know, it sounds crazy, but it really does center me. The relationship between nutrition and mental health is really something I am sensitive to.
I also bow hunt whitetail deer. My family has some timber on the Iowa Missouri border and sitting in a tree stand at 5:30 a.m. watching the woods wake and the blazing sunrise over the rolling Iowa landscape is nothing short of miraculous. Is it heaven? No. It is Iowa.
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