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The State Judicial Nominating Commission has selected three eastern Iowa nominees to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Iowa Supreme Court. The names have already been sent to Gov. Chet Culver for his appointment.

The nominees are:

• Connie Alt, 47, of Cedar Rapids. She is currently a senior vice president at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll P.L.C., her work focused on litigation, primarily in medical malpractice defense. She received her Juris Doctorate in 1985 from the University of Iowa.
• David Baker, 55, of Cedar Rapids, was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2006. He attended the University of Iowa where he received both his undergraduate and law degree (1979). He served in private practice for 25 years before his appointment as a district court judge in the Sixth Judicial District in 2005.
• Thomas Waterman, 48, of Pleasant Valley. He is currently an attorney with the Davenport law firm Lane & Waterman L.L.P. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa in 1984. In 2006, "America's Leading Business Lawyers" ranked Waterman as one of the best lawyers in America for his work in commercial litigation.

The vacancy will occur when Justice Jerry L. Larsen retires on May 17, due to the mandatory retirement age. Larson, who joined the court in 1978, is the longest serving justice in Iowa history.

Culver has 30 days to make an appointment to the court from this slate of nominees.