Rox Laird, Author at Nyemaster Goode On Brief

Question to Iowa Supreme Court: Who are the legal parents of a child born of a surrogate mother?

A case before the Iowa Supreme Court this term poses profound questions of law, biology, genetics and human rights:

Who are the legal parents of a child produced from donated genetic material and born of a surrogate mother?

Eighth Circuit upholds Sorenson prison sentence for lying about taking money for political endorsements

Former Iowa State Sen. Kent Sorenson’s 15-month sentence in federal prison for lying about taking payments for political endorsements was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors had recommended …

Iowa Supreme Court set to hear arguments in four cases next week

by Rox Laird | 12.08

The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in four cases on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 12 and 13, in appeals that ask the Court to settle a dispute over a baby born of a surrogate mother, an asbestos liability suit brought by the estate of a lung-cancer victim, and a question of whether the St …

Iowa Supreme Court: Trial judge erred on removing a biased juror, but the verdict stands

by Rox Laird | 12.04

A trial judge committed error when he ruled against dismissing a potential juror who objected to the defendant’s sexual orientation, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 1.

Taxing one stepchild but not another does not violate equal protection, Iowa Supreme Court rules

by Rox Laird | 11.27

Iowa tax law does not run afoul of the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution in treating certain stepchildren differently than others for inheritance-tax purposes, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in read more

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Susan Christensen, the new Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, will be first to serve a shortened term

Iowa Supreme Court Justice Susan Christensen, who was selected by her colleagues on the Court to become Chief Justice, will be the first chief justice to serve just a two-year term under a new statute enacted by the Iowa General Assembly in 2019.

Prior to the passage of Senate File 638 in April 2019 (codified as Chapter …

Residential contractors must be licensed to represent homeowners with insurers

Contracts written by residential contractors who act as unlicensed “public adjusters” representing homeowners’ with insurers following storm damage are invalid under Iowa law, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Feb. 14.

33 Carpenters Const …

Homesteads exempt from mechanic’s lien foreclosure to collect legal fees, Iowa Supreme Court rules

Homeowners may have to pay a contractor for labor and materials in a mechanic’s lien foreclosure, but they cannot be forced to forfeit their homestead to cover the contractor’s legal fees, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled. That is, however, unless the homesteader waits too long to make that claim.

That was the good-news, …

Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments Feb. 10 in a case of an emotional support dog versus a neighbor with allergies

Two tenants on the same floor of an Iowa City apartment building assert conflicting rights that seem irreconcilable — one needs a dog for emotional support and the other is allergic to dogs — and they are asking the Iowa Supreme Court to decide which party should prevail.

The case,

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