Stewart Schuman completed a prison sentence for sex crimes in 2012. But in the decade since, Shuman, who is now 69 years old, has been confined in a sex-offender treatment unit in the Cherokee Mental Health Institute following his civil commitment as a sexually violent predator.
In 2022 the Story County District Court ru …
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in four cases Jan. 23. Three other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in these cases.
The Iowa Legislature in 1995 enacted health care insurance reforms aimed at improving individual access to health insurance. Among other things, the legislation created the Iowa Individual Health Benefit Reinsurance Association, a private nonprofit corporation.
Individual health insurance providers are required by the st …
Iowa law requires that a party bringing a malpractice action against a health care provider provide defendants with an expert witness affidavit regarding the alleged breach of the applicable medical standard of care, referred to as a “certificate of merit”. In three decisions handed down Dec. 22, the Iowa Supreme Court …
In 2021 Des Moines lawyer Marc Harding was considering bringing a medical malpractice action in Iowa and sent records related to the case to an Indiana surgeon to review. Harding ultimately decided against bringing the malpractice suit but instead sued the Indiana doctor over a consulting-fee dispute.
That dispute led to …
Cedar Rapids resident Robert Teig asked Cedar Rapids city officials for records related to the hiring of a new city clerk and city attorney. When they mostly denied Teig’s requests, he filed suit naming six Cedar Rapids officials as defendants, which the Linn County District Court dismissed on summary judgment.
Teig ma …
Lasondra Johnson was tried for first-degree murder for the shooting death of Jada Young-Mills outside a Waterloo residence. Johnson argued she acted in self defense and the shooting was justified under Iowa’s “stand your ground” law that says a person is justified in the use of reasonable force in the belief that such …
The Iowa Code requires that a plaintiff who brings medical malpractice claims in state court serve the defendant with an affidavit signed by an expert witness regarding the merits of the claim that the medical provider was negligent. The statute requires that the affidavit be signed under oath obligating the witness to be t …
Two assistant Iowa attorneys general subpoenaed to testify by deposition in an employment suit against the State appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court after the trial court denied their motion to quash the subpoenas. The Supreme Court held that while one of the attorneys is shielded from testifying, the other is not.
Depart …
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.
