The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases Dec. 13 and 14. Three other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in these cases. Following are brief summaries of the December cases.
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Iowa Court of Appeals December 2023 Published Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication within the North Western Reporter. On December 1, 2023, the Court of Appeals selected three opinions for publication, summarized below.
Iowa Supreme Court: ‘Scurrilous’ notes taped to doors of residents displaying rainbow flags amounted to hate crime
When Robert Geddes entered onto the private property of five Boone residents without permission, he violated Iowa’s trespass statute. It became a more serious crime when he taped “Burn that gay flag” messages on the front doors of those residences, which were displaying rainbow flags. That elevated the charge to tresp …
Iowa Court of Appeals September 2023 Published Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication within the North Western Reporter. In September 2023, the Court of Appeals selected six opinions for publication, summarized below.
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upends Voting Rights Act precedents on who has the right to challenge laws based on race or color
In the nearly six decades since the Voting Rights Act was enacted by Congress, federal judges have assumed private parties could bring suits in federal court to enforce the law that prohibits state or federal election policies that deny the right to vote based on race or color.
That assumption was upended in a Nov. 20 de …
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Public invited to observe Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments at an evening session Feb. 19
The Iowa Supreme Court will hold a special evening session in Des Moines Feb. 19 to hear oral arguments in a case involving the right of a criminal suspect in police custody to contact a lawyer or family member.
Oral arguments are ordinarily held during mornings or early afternoons in Des Moines, but each term the Court …
Iowa Supreme Court: It is not enough to say that a cow does not belong on a highway
Was it enough for a truck driver who struck a cow on the interstate, seeking to prove the cow’s owner was negligent, to rely upon the very fact that the cow had been allowed to wander onto the highway in the first place?
Not without more, the Iowa Supreme Court said in a
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in fourteen cases during December 2023. You can read Rox Laird’s analysis of State v. Geddes, State v. Arrieta, Harding v. Sasso, and Hummel v. Smith and Hilts v. Smith. The remaining opinions from December are summarized below. Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) paid a female employee less than a male employee in a comparable position, but the pay differential did not amount to illegal discrimination, according to a Feb. 2 opinion by the Iowa Supreme Court. Sandra Selden, an Application Support Analyst 2 in the DMACC information technolo …December 2023 Opinion Roundup
Iowa Supreme Court reverses jury verdict in DMACC pay discrimination case
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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.