Last week on Iowa Public Radio’s River to River, On Brief contributor Ryan Koopmans and University of Iowa law professors Song Richardson and Todd Pettys discussed four high-profile cases from the Iowa Supreme Court’s 2012-2013 term: Gartner v. Iowa Department of Public Health, Nelson v….
Tomorrow at noon, On Brief contributor Ryan Koopmans will discuss the Iowa Supreme Court with Iowa Public Radio’s Katherine Perkins. Iowa Public Radio airs on 90.1 FM in the Des Moines area; a list of other stations around the State is here. [UPDATE: The interview…
Over the weekend, Radio Iowa played the following interview with On Brief contributor Ryan Koopmans: “Review shows some trends in Iowa Supreme Court rulings.”
The Iowa Supreme Court will issue decisions in two cases tomorrow (Friday, May 25): Lee v. State and McCormick v. Nikkel & Associates, Inc. Both cases are on further review from the Iowa Court of Appeals. In Lee, the district court awarded the plaintiff monetary…
Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, an employer may not discriminate against an employee “because of” his or her age. Although the phrase “because of” does not seem so ambiguous, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to interpret those words three years ago in…
The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments in seven cases on September 9th and 10th. Five other cases were submitted to the Court without oral argument. The following are summaries of those cases.
The last four Iowa Supreme Court terms—from the 2022-2023 term to the recently concluded 2025-2026 term—have seen a stylistic shift in how the Court articulates its rulings.
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a personal injury claim arising from an accident involving a horse-drawn sickle mower in a unanimous decision filed on June 12, 2026. In Shafer v. Santana, the Court held that a farmer operating a horse drawn sickle mower was engaged in the “domesticated animal activity” of driving under Iowa’s Domesticated Animal Activities Act, despite the fact that the horses were briefly stopped when the injury occurred.
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In July, the Court of Appeals selected two opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
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.
