In a new “In the Balance” podcast, Justice Matthew McDermott, the newest member of the Iowa Supreme Court, talks about growing up in Carroll, Iowa, attending law school in Calif …
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in 10 appeals this week — all by remote video conference
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in 10 cases Tuesday and Wednesday. Four other appeals will be submitted to the Court without oral argument.
Due to the recent rise in new Covid-19 cases, the justices will hear all December arguments by video conference remotely. Go to the Court’s read more
Facebook post was rude and insulting but not libelous, Iowa Court of Appeals rules
An obscenity-laced Facebook post calling an apartment building owner a slumlord may have been vulgar and insulting, but it was not libelous, the Iowa Court of Appeals said in a decision handed down Nov. 30.
Sloan, Iowa, apartment manager Richard Bauer created a stir with his battle against construction of a commercial do …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in five cases Tuesday and Wednesday
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in five cases Tuesday and Wednesday. Six more cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the cases that will be submitted to the Court this week. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipe …
Justice Mansfield describes appellate process in new podcast
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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 …
Eighth Circuit Vacates Injunction Against Iowa’s Mask Mandate Ban On Mootness Grounds
On Monday, May 16, a panel of judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated an Iowa federal district judge’s injunction barring enforcement of Iowa’s ban of mask mandates in schools. In doing so, the Court of Appeals overturned its prior ruling from January, which affirmed the injunction …
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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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.