Iowa Supreme Court to hear a case with constitutional implications in Feb. 20 evening session
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear an oral argument in a special evening session Monday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Judicial Branch Building. The evening session is an opportunity for members of the public who might otherwise be unable to attend court sessions to witness an oral argument in person.
The case to be argued – …
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Detectives’ ‘distasteful’ deception crossed no constitutional lines, Iowa Supreme Court holds
The Iowa Supreme Court has for more than 60 years used what it has called a “common sense” standard for determining whether police officers cross a constitutional line by dangling the prospect of leniency before a criminal suspect that is likely to lead to a false confession.
Applying the precedent first enunciated i …
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in 11 appeals Jan. 18 and 19
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in 11 cases Jan. 18 and 19. 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 January …
read moreDivided Iowa Supreme Court reversed district court’s exclusion of criminal defendant’s family from attending trial under the Court’s COVID-19 Supervisory Order as a violation of the public right to trial
In State v. Brimmer, the Iowa Supreme Court was read more
Appeal for injunction dropped in constitutional challenge to gender-balance rule for State Judicial Nominating Commission
The plaintiffs in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit regarding the constitutionality of Iowa’s gender balance requirement for the State Judicial Nominating Commission have agreed to dismiss their appeal of an Iowa district court’s denial of their request for a temporary injunction.
The cas …
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Plaintiff seeking confidential government documents in public-records suit must first show they may be released to the public, Iowa Supreme Court holds
A plaintiff may not have access to confidential government records through discovery in a suit brought under the Iowa Public Records Act unless the trial court first rules the records are subject to public disclosure, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down Dec. 16.
Michelle Vaccaro sued Polk County and Pol …
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Iowa Supreme Court: All voters count where referendum petitions are concerned
On Election Day, voters may skip some races on the ballot while voting in others. “Undervoting” ordinarily is not an issue, but it presents one for purposes of Iowa’s statute that calculates the number of signatures needed on a petition calling for a public referendum based on the “number of voters.”
The meanin …
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven cases Dec. 14 and 15
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in seven cases Dec. 14 and 15. Five other cases will be submitted to the court this week without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs in these cases.
Following are summa …
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Appeal filed in federal constitutional challenge to Iowa gender-balance law for State Judicial Nominating Commission
Two Iowans who are seeking to enjoin enforcement of an Iowa statute requiring gender balance on the State Judicial Nominating Commission are taking their challenge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Rachel Raak Law of Correctionville and Micah Broekemeier of Iowa City read more
Iowa Supreme Court reaffirms its precedent on reciting rights to drunk driving suspects
How far must a police officer go to assure that a suspected drunk driver understands the legal consequences of agreeing or refusing to take a breath test when the suspect does not speak English?
That is the question posed in an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court by Fethe Feshay Baraki, who claims he did not knowingly conse …
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Iowa Supreme Court declines to overrule its precedent allowing multiple robbery charges when theft victims are also assaulted
In 2022 Brandon Lee entered the home of an elderly couple in Coggon, physically assaulted each of them with the aim of forcing them to reveal the location of cash, and left with $50,000 they had kept in a safe in the basement.
Lee was convicted by a Linn County jury for one count of theft and two counts of first-degree r …
Suit regarding ownership of Terrace Hill contents remanded to trial court by Iowa Supreme Court
The Iowa Supreme Court sent a case back to Polk County District Court for further proceedings on a suit brought by the Terrace Hill Society Foundation against the Terrace Hill Commission regarding which party controls the collection of artifacts in the Terrace Hill governor’s mansion.
The Terrace Hill Society Foundatio …
Thirty cases yet to be decided in Iowa Supreme Court’s term ending in June
The Iowa Supreme Court has 30 cases left to decide in the two months that remain in the Court’s 2023-24 term.
The case that has been on the undecided list the longest – State v. Bauler, which raised a question of whether a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated in a traffic stop – was argued N …
Iowa Supreme Court sends question of State Auditor’s application of records law back to district court
The Iowa Supreme Court reversed in part a Polk County District Court ruling granting summary judgment in favor of State Auditor Rob Sand’s withholding release of communications related to the Auditor’s investigation of the governor’s office. The justices sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings on …
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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.