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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Divided Iowa Supreme Court affirms trial court on license plate obscured by trailer hitch ball
A Polk County District judge denied a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence from a traffic stop initiated by a police officer who could not make out one letter on the vehicle’s license plate because it was partially blocked by a trailer hitch ball.
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in nine cases Nov. 16 and 17
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in nine cases Nov. 16 and 17. Three other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are short summaries of the November cases. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipeline page to read the briefs in these case …
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Iowa Supreme Court leaves rules in place for appealing guilty pleas
When a criminal defendant pleads guilty to a crime, it produces the same result as a criminal conviction at trial. So courts have created procedural requirements designed to ensure that any plea is legally and constitutionally valid before it is accepted.
One requirement is that there must be a factual basis for the crim …
read moreA statistical review of the 2021-2022 Iowa Supreme Court term: while polarization recedes, disagreement persists
[This article by Matthew A. McGuire and Spencer S. Cady was originally published in the August 2022 issue of The Iowa Lawyer magazine. The 2021-2022 term statistics were compiled by Chris Slack.]
The 2021-2022 term of the Iowa Supreme Court concluded o …
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Iowa Supreme Court Does Not Reverse District Court Determination That The Supreme Court’s COVID-19 Orders Tolling Statutes Of Limitations Violated The Iowa Constitution
The Iowa Supreme Court is responsible for supervising and regulating trial and appellate courts across the state. As the COVID-19 pandemic descended upon the state in early 2020, the Supreme Court was forced to issue emergency orders to protect the public and court staff while keeping the state’s court system functioning. …
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State worker failed to prove boss created a hostile work environment, Iowa Supreme Court holds
The Iowa Supreme Court remanded a $790,000 jury award for a state employee’s hostile-work environment claim to Polk County District Court for entry of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which erases the damage award. The Court held that the plaintiff failed to prove her hostile work environment claim based on what she herself experienced.
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments April 11 on constitutionality of Iowa’s fetal cardiac activity abortion statute
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear its final oral argument of the 2023-24 term Thursday. The Court saved the term’s most-watched case for last: an appeal addressing whether Iowa’s law banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy may be enforced.
The oral argument in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, et al …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in eight cases Apr. 10-11
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases April 10 and 11. Four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the April arguments.
February 2024 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in eighteen cases during February 2024. You can read Rox Laird’s analysis of Singh v. McDermott, Selden v. DMACC, and Senator Roby Smith et al. v. Iowa District Court for Polk County. The remaining opinions from February are summarized here.
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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.