A video of a video may be introduced as evidence in a criminal trial provided there is proper foundation that the evidence is what it is said to be, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down Oct. 3.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order Oct. 6 denying an Iowa woman’s petition for certiorari seeking to overturn her drug possession conviction in Madison County District Court, arguing that a police search of her vehicle based on a drug-detection dog’s sniff through an open…
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases Oct. 7 and 8. Four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of those cases.
Iowa Supreme Court Justice David May discussed the concept of separation of powers, federalism and other constitutional topics in an interview on the Iowa Judicial Branch’s “In the Balance” podcast posted Sept. 8 on the Judicial Branch website.
The Iowa Supreme Court on Sept 16 will hear oral argument in Bettendorf in a case that poses the question of whether a district court can deny a State Public Defender’s effort to withdraw as counsel representing an indigent defendant because the Public Defender’s office…
After more than a decade of service to On Brief, we are announcing that Rox Laird is stepping away from his role as a contributor to the blog. Throughout his tenure, Rox has authored nearly 500 posts covering the Iowa Supreme Court, the Iowa Court…
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In May, the Court of Appeals selected two opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
The developer of a wind energy project planned in Worth County did not have a “vested right” to continue with the project after the Worth County Board of Supervisors enacted an ordinance the developer claimed doomed the project, a divided Iowa Supreme Court held in an April 24 decision.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued opinions in eleven cases in February 2026. At the links immediately below, you can read On Brief’s analysis of the following 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.
