In 2017, Jena McCoy was hired as a sales representative for Thomas L Cardella & Associates’ call center in Ottumwa, Iowa. She alleged that within her first few weeks on the job, her supervisor, John Thompson, “began sitting next to her in her cubicle, touching her inappropriately and making sexually charged comments …
Six justices of the Iowa Supreme Court were deadlocked on a constitutional “takings” question in a case involving a plan by MidAmerican Energy to construct a power transmission line along a highway right-of-way that crosses a Madison County resident’s property.
MidAmerican applied for a franchise from the Iowa Util …
In a 3-3 decision, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed a district court ruling refusing to dissolve a 2019 injunction against enforcement of a law known as the “fetal heartbeat law,” which would prohibit most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Though the lack of a majority means that no written opinion carries th …
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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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 …
A driver whose vehicle collides with a cow wandering on a highway might logically assume the owner of the cow is, by definition, responsible for the driver’s injuries and damage to the vehicle. By that logic, the injured driver shouldn’t have to provide evidence of precisely how the owner failed to prevent the cow’s mea …
A convicted murderer’s bid for a new trial was denied by the Iowa Court of Appeal in a decision handed down Oct. 11.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted by a Poweshiek County jury in 2021 for the murder of Mollie Tibbetts of Brooklyn, …
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases Oct. 10 and 11. Five additional cases will be submitted to the Court without oral arguments. Following are brief summaries of the October cases. [Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read the briefs f …
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear an oral argument at the University of Iowa in a case that poses a question with an often-elusive answer under the Fourth Amendment: When does a reasonable person feel free to walk or drive away from a police encounter?
The oral argument in this case is set for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Un …
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.
