Appeals court upholds injunction against Iowa’s ban on mask mandates in schools, but wants it narrowed
A group of Iowa parents of children with disabilities who sued the State to block enforcement of a state law banning mask mandates in schools are entitled to a preliminary injunction, but it should be narrowly tailored to apply only to schools with students with disabilities.
That is the thrust of a 27-page read more
Iowa Supreme Court to hear 9 cases January 19 and 20
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in nine cases Wednesday and Thursday, and five other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are summaries of the January cases. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to rea …
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Iowa Supreme Court rules on who can appeal a decision of the Iowa Public Information Board
An attorney seeking public disclosure of law enforcement records related to the fatal shooting of a Burlington woman by a police officer in 2015 has standing to pursue his case in Polk County District Court, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Dec. 30 in read more
County assessor’s list of property owners seeking anonymity may be kept confidential, Iowa Supreme Court rules
A list of property owners who asked the Polk County Assessor’s Office to remove their names from the search function on the assessor’s website is a public record, but the list is exempt from disclosure under an exception in the Iowa Open Records Act, the Iowa Supreme Court held Dec. 17 in read more
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in eight appeals Dec. 14 and 15
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases December 14 and 15, and five other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument.
Go to Iowa Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs in these appeals.
Following are summaries of the …
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State delays in considering prison inmates for parole must meet constitutional standard, Iowa Supreme Court rules
Appeals court rejects Hearst’s bid for reconsideration of defamation ruling involving Iowa dairy farm
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Tuesday denied the publisher of Esquire magazine’s request for rehearing of its Sept. 15 panel ruling reversing in part a district court decision dismissing California Congressman Devin Nunes’ defamation suit against the company.
Hearst Magazines Inc., the pub …
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven appeals Tuesday and Wednesday
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in seven cases Nov. 16 and 17, and seven other cases will be submitted to the court without oral arguments.
Following are brief summaries of the November cases. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs su …
read moreEsquire magazine seeks new hearing on Eighth Circuit defamation ruling involving Iowa dairy farm
The publisher of Esquire magazine is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to reconsider its Sept. 15 panel ruling that the magazine published potentially defamatory statements about California Congressman Devin Nunes and his family’s dairy farm in Iowa.
In its read more
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in 10 cases Wednesday and Thursday
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in 10 appeals Oct. 20 and 21. Another four cases will be submitted to the Court without argument.
Following are summaries of 12 of those cases. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipeline page to read briefs in these appea …
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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 …
Edited body camera video should not have been admitted in OWI trial, Iowa Supreme Court rules
An edited video from a police officer’s body camera leading jurors to conclude a drunk-driving suspect failed a preliminary breath test should not have been allowed into evidence, the Iowa Supreme Court said in a ruling handed down Nov. 17 …
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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.