Iowa Supreme Court sets new standard in employment discrimination cases
The Iowa Supreme Court on June 7 reversed a $4.5 million jury verdict in an employment discrimination suit, and sent the case back for retrial with a new standard to be used in jury instructions that could give the defendant a new defense.
Gregory Hawkins, …
read more“Mail” now means “email” under the Administrative Procedure Act, Iowa Supreme Court rules
When the Iowa Legislature enacted the Administrative Procedure Act in 1975, the statute required petitioners to notify the other parties by mail. That meant sending a paper copy of the petition through the mail within 10 days, or delivery in person under a 1981 amendment.
Iowa Supreme Court: Cuts in public-sector collective bargaining rights meet constitutional muster
Amendments to Iowa Code Chapter 20 that substantially reduced the collective bargaining rights of most state and local government employees did not violate union members’ equal protection or free association rights under the Iowa Constitution, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled May 19.
Iowa Supreme Court affirms Carroll Airport’s decision affecting a towering grain elevator in its flight path
The Carroll Airport Commission ordered a farmer to remove a 12-story grain elevator erected near its runway because it presents a flight hazard. The Federal Aviation Administration, however, issued a contrary opinion saying the elevator could remain.
The Io …
read moreIowa Supreme Court upholds Utilities Board rule that eases regulation of wind farms
Is a wind farm with 170 windmills spread over 80 square miles a single power plant or a collection of separate power plants?
According to the Iowa Utilities Board, it is the latter, and the Iowa Supreme Court deferred to that statutory interpretation in a d …
read moreTwo judges appointed to Iowa Court of Appeals by Governor Reynolds
Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Marshalltown attorney Sharon Soorholtz Greer and Polk County District Judge David May to the Iowa Court of Appeals May 29.
They replace former Chief Judge David Danilson, who retired in January, and Judge Christopher McDonald, …
read moreEighth Circuit case on food-stamp records to be argued at U.S. Supreme Court April 22
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that likely will decide whether a Sioux Falls, S.D., newspaper should have access to food-stamp spending at specific retail stores.
Cons …
read moreWhen are police reports introduced in a civil trial public records? It depends, the Iowa Supreme Court says
The Iowa Supreme Court has clarified two previous rulings that reached seemingly contradictory positions on whether police investigative reports must be made public under the Iowa Open Records Act.
The clarification came in a ruling handed down April 5 in …
read moreThe final round of oral arguments for the Iowa Supreme Court’s 2018-19 term set for April 9
The Iowa Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in five cases on April 9, and nine other cases will be submitted to the court without oral argument. Three cases will be argued beginning at 9 a.m., and two will be argued beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Go to t …
read moreFrom our archive: An interview with Justice Daryl Hecht, who died April 3
Three years ago Rox Laird, a contributor to this blog, sat down with Iowa Supreme Justice Daryl Hecht for a rare on-the-record interview ahead o …
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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 …
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 …
Divided 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
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 …Appeal for injunction dropped in constitutional challenge to gender-balance rule for State Judicial Nominating Commission
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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.