

Des Moines detectives not protected by qualified immunity, federal appeals court rules
Two Des Moines police detectives are not entitled to qualified immunity from civil liability for violating the Fourth Amendment rights of a woman who resisted their efforts to have access to her minor daughter suspected of being the victim of physical abuse, the U.S....
Court of Appeals Judge David May elevated to Iowa Supreme Court by Governor Reynolds
Judge David May, who describes himself as a “regular person” who received “extraordinary blessings,” has risen to the pinnacle of the Iowa judicial system with his appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court July 27 by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Judge May’s self description can be...
Iowa Supreme Court upholds first-degree murder conviction after fourth trial
Stanley Liggins was convicted of first-degree murder from events which occurred in 1990. Liggins was charged with the murder of a nine-year-old child. Liggins’s initial conviction was overturned on appeal in 1994 due to the admission of irrelevant, prejudicial...

Iowa Supreme Court denies State’s bid for rehearing on standard of review for abortion regulations
On July 1 the State of Iowa filed a petition urging the Iowa Supreme Court to rehear its June 17 ruling on abortion in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Reynolds. (Read our previous post on the Court’s prior ruling here.) The State requested the Court revisit its...

Divided Iowa Supreme Court strikes down precedent on animal confinements
The Iowa Supreme Court in a 4-3 ruling handed down June 30 overturned a 2004 decision that created a path for challenging Iowa’s law protecting animal confinement operators from nuisance suits as a violation of the inalienable rights clause of the Iowa Constitution....
FEATURED POSTS
Des Moines detectives not protected by qualified immunity, federal appeals court rules
Court of Appeals Judge David May elevated to Iowa Supreme Court by Governor Reynolds
Iowa Supreme Court upholds first-degree murder conviction after fourth trial
Iowa Supreme Court denies State’s bid for rehearing on standard of review for abortion regulations
APPELLATE CALENDAR
EDITORIAL TEAM
ABOUT
On Brief: Iowa’s Appellate Blog is devoted to appellate litigation with a focus on the Iowa Supreme Court, the Iowa Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.