Iowa Supreme Court Justice Brent Appel will retire from the Court effective June 13 after serving on the Court for 16 years. Appel, who turns 72 this year, reached the ma …
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Iowa Supreme Court applies ‘plain feel’ exception to uphold Fourth Amendment warrantless search
Appellate courts have over the past half century given police officers more latitude to make warrantless searches during traffic stops using two of the five senses – sight and touch – to assess whether a suspicious item discovered in a pat-down search is evidence of a crime.
The sense of touch was at issue in a decis …
Des Moines police officers denied immunity for holding crime witnesses, Eighth Circuit rules
Federal courts recently have begun to reexamine the common law doctrine of “qualified immunity” that protects public officials from individual liability where there is no clearly established constitutional or statutory right at stake.
This reconsideration has been prompted in large part by critics of granting qualifi …
Railroad’s share of drainage district repairs based on benefit, not cost, Iowa Supreme Court rules
A railroad whose tracks cross an agricultural drainage district should be assessed its share of the cost of repairing deteriorated drainage tile based on the railroad’s benefit from the repairs, not the added cost of complying with federal railroad regulations, the Iowa Supreme Court said in a ruling handed down May 6.
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear oral argument in one case April 20
The Iowa Supreme Court on April 20 will hear its final scheduled oral argument for the 2021-22 term, which ends in June.
One case, Hoffman v. Clark, will be argued at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Two other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “read more
FEATURED POSTS
Iowa Code section 20.32 does not extend broader bargaining rights to nontransit employees, Iowa Supreme Court rules
In an opinion filed February 24, 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court in City of Ames v. Iowa Public Employment Relations Board ruled Iowa Code section 20.32 does not extend broader bargaining rights to nontransit employees in a bargaining unit made up of 30 percent or more transit employees. Justice Waterman delivered the …
Iowa Supreme Court holds subpoenas served on a non-party should have been quashed for imposing an undue burden
In an opinion filed on February 10, 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court in In the Matter of the Subpoenas Issued to Dethmers Manufacturing Company held subpoenas relating to a Louisiana products liability suit but issued from an Iowa court to a nonparty in Iowa imposed an undue burden under the Iowa Civil Rules of Procedu …
Does Iowa’s constitution require a tougher standard for removing minority jurors? Iowa Supreme Court says no
The Iowa Supreme Court declined to take up an appellant’s suggestion that the Court apply a more rigorous standard for deciding whether the removal of the only minority-group member from a pool of potential jurors may violate the Iowa Constitution.
Davina Valdez, a Black teacher’s assistant sued the West Des Moines S …
Former state employee may pursue claim she was fired for complying with Iowa Open Records Act, Iowa Supreme Court holds
A former public employee may bring a claim of being wrongfully fired for performing the assigned duty of releasing government records to the public under the Iowa Open Records Act, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down June 2 …
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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.