The Iowa Department of Natural Resources went too far when it quarantined a 330-acre hunting preserve to prevent the spread of a deer disease, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday. But the Court held that the quarantine did not amount to a government “taking” of the owners’ property under …
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Iowa Supreme Court opens the courthouse doors to ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuits
Pamela and Jeremy Plowmans’ appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court presented hard questions about the rights of parents to be informed about abnormalities of an unborn child that may lead them to choose an abortion.
The Court, carefully picking through this mor …
2016-17 Iowa Supreme Court status report: 96 down; 21 to go
Tomorrow the Iowa Supreme Court is expected to hand down two decisions, which will bring to 96 the number of cases disposed of in the first nine months of the 2016-17 term.
After the release of tomorrow’s decisions, 21 submitted cases will remain to be …
Iowa Supreme Court draws a line in two juvenile sentencing cases
When the Iowa Supreme Court began applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent juvenile sentencing decisions to Iowa cases, criminal offenders convicted as juveniles saw an opportunity to raise increasingly novel arguments.
Although the Court has agreed with …
Iowa Supreme Court reverses itself in speedy indictment cases
A divided Iowa Supreme Court Thursday reversed its 37-year-old precedent on when an “arrest” occurs for purposes of the state’s speedy indictment rule.
In the case before the Court, read more
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Iowa Supreme Court holds new qualified immunity provision does not apply retrospectively but applies new heightened pleading standard to claims against Polk County by former employee
On January 5, 2021, Jim Nahas was fired by the Polk County Board of Supervisors from his position as the Polk County Human Resources Director. In response, Nahas filed suit against the Board and four of its members, “claiming libel per se, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, extor
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Iowa Supreme Court rejects challenges to collection of fines generated by traffic cameras
City ordinances in Des Moines and Windsor Heights providing for collection of traffic fines generated by automated traffic enforcement cameras are not unconstitutional government takings, they do not violate due process of law, and they do not amount to illegal property taxes, the Iowa Suprem …
Analyzing DNA voluntarily abandoned in public is not a search under the United States or Iowa Constitution, according to the Iowa Supreme Court
In a 5-2 decision, the Iowa Supreme Court held that police officers’ collection and testing of DNA on a drinking straw abandoned by a suspect in a restaurant did not constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution or article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution. Two dissenting Justices ex …
Right to a jury does not apply to Consumer Fraud Act claims brought by the Attorney General, Iowa Supreme Court rules
Because Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act is enforced through civil proceedings aimed at making victims whole and preventing future fraudulent actions rather than punishment, defendants accused of violating the Act are not entitled to a trial by jury, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down May 26.
The State brou …
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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.