

Iowa Supreme Court rejects bid to abolish exception to Fourth Amendment warrant requirement
A law enforcement officer making a roadside stop is legally allowed to search a vehicle without a warrant under an “automobile exception” to the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures granted by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and separately under the Iowa Constitution. That exception, recog …
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Iowa Supreme Court: Union Pacific Railroad not liable for worker’s suicide
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. is not liable under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) for the death of an employee who took his own life from emotional distress caused by his supervisor’ harassment, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down April 25.
Kera Morgan, as administrator of her late husb …
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Iowa Supreme Court removes judicial magistrate from bench for racially derogatory and ‘demeaning and sophomoric’ statements
The Iowa Supreme Court removed a part-time judicial magistrate from the bench in a unanimous decision issued April 18 for violations of the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct in making a racially derogatory statement in an open court proceeding and by making a “demeaning and sophomoric” justification in a written order denying an arrest warrant.
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Iowa Supreme Court revives suit against Polk County over rezoning decision on Family Leader project
Five individual plaintiffs living near a non-profit group’s proposed office and event center have standing to pursue claims alleging they would be injured by development in what is now an area zoned for agricultural use. The Iowa Supreme Court reached this conclusion in a decision handed down April 4.
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven cases April 15 and 16
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in seven cases April 15 and 16. Two other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the April cases with the exception of one attorney discipline case.
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in a defamation case April 3 at Drake Law School
Did a video recording of a school board meeting posted by the board on its YouTube channel defame a former tennis coach who alleges she was slandered by statements made during the public meeting? That question will be before the Iowa Supreme Court at an oral argument at the Drake Law School at 9:30 a.m. April 3 in Villarini v. Iowa City Community School District.
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in eight cases March 26 and 27
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases March 26 and 27. Two cases will be submitted to the Court without oral arguments. Following are summaries of the March arguments. Go to OnBrief’s Cases in the Pipeline page to read briefs filed in these cases.
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Statute penalizing assisted-reproduction fraud does not apply retroactively, Iowa Supreme Court holds
A state statute enacted in 2022 that created civil and criminal penalties for fertility doctors who fraudulently use their own sperm to help infertile couples conceive children through artificial insemination does not apply retroactively, the Iowa Supreme Court held in three decisions handed down March 14.
All three case …
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Iowa Supreme Court issues split rulings on firearms rights
The Iowa Supreme Court handed down two rulings Feb. 21 addressing firearms rights under state and federal law.
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Iowa Supreme Court holds it had authority to extend statute of limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an order temporarily extending the two-year statute of limitations in civil cases by 76 days.
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Iowa Supreme Court rejects bid to abolish exception to Fourth Amendment warrant requirement
A law enforcement officer making a roadside stop is legally allowed to search a vehicle without a warrant under an “automobile exception” to the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures granted by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and separately under the Iowa Constitution. That exception, recog …
Iowa Supreme Court: Union Pacific Railroad not liable for worker’s suicide
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. is not liable under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) for the death of an employee who took his own life from emotional distress caused by his supervisor’ harassment, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down April 25.
Kera Morgan, as administrator of her late husb …
Iowa Supreme Court removes judicial magistrate from bench for racially derogatory and ‘demeaning and sophomoric’ statements
The Iowa Supreme Court removed a part-time judicial magistrate from the bench in a unanimous decision issued April 18 for violations of the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct in making a racially derogatory statement in an open court proceeding and by making a “demeaning and sophomoric” justification in a written order denying an arrest warrant.
Iowa Supreme Court revives suit against Polk County over rezoning decision on Family Leader project
Five individual plaintiffs living near a non-profit group’s proposed office and event center have standing to pursue claims alleging they would be injured by development in what is now an area zoned for agricultural use. The Iowa Supreme Court reached this conclusion in a decision handed down April 4.
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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.