The 2017-18 term marked the end of an era for the Iowa Supreme Court
The Iowa Supreme Court’s 2018-19 term that began Sept. 4 marks the first change in court personnel in nearly a decade, with the retirement of Justice Bruce Zager and the appointment of former District Judge Susan Christensen to take his place.
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The 2017-18 term marked the end of an era for the Iowa Supreme Court
The Iowa Supreme Court’s 2018-19 term that began Sept. 4 marks the first change in court personnel in nearly a decade, with the retirement of Justice Bruce Zager and the appointment of former District Judg …
read moreIowa Supreme Court to hear oral argument at Johnston High School Monday night, and at the Judicial Branch Building Tuesday
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at Johnston High School in a drunk-driving appeal that raises constitutional issues. The justices will be back at the Judicial Branch Building Tuesday to hear arguments in three cases on Sept. 18. A fourth case will be submitted …
read moreEight oral arguments on tap for the Iowa Supreme Court this week
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in eight cases Wednesday and Thursday, and six cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the cases.
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read moreQuestion to be argued before the Iowa Supreme Court: Games of skill or chance?
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday in Iowa City in a case that could determine whether gaming devices that resemble slot machines could be placed in Iowa businesses other than bars.
The Court will hear oral arguments at 10:30 a.m. Friday in < …
read moreEighth Circuit rules ‘In God We Trust’ on U.S. currency is constitutional
The motto “In God We Trust” has been printed on U.S. currency since the Civil War, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confronted the question of whether it violates the Constitution for the first time in an Aug. 28 read more
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch shares his views on preserving the rule of law at Des Moines conference
Neil Gorsuch, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, made a case for defending the rule of law in a conversation a Q-and-A-format conversation with Lavenski Smith, Chief Judge of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, at the Eighth Circuit conference in Des Moines Friday.
District Judge Susan Christensen named to the Iowa Supreme Court
Susan Christensen told her husband some years ago that she wanted to be a judge, and she reached that goal when she became a District Associate Judge in 2007 and a District Judge in 2015. But her climb up the judiciary ladder did not end there: On Wednesday, Christensen was appointed as an Asso …
read moreIowa native tapped for vacancy on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
A Sioux City native has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to replace Judge Roger Wollman, who has announced he will take senior status.
Jonathan Kobes, now serving as general counsel to U.S. Sen. Mike Round …
read moreEighth Circuit Court of Appeals issues a split decision on the legality of Des Moines’ utility fee
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis handed down a read more
FEATURED POSTS
Divided Iowa Supreme Court strikes down precedent on animal confinements
The Iowa Supreme Court in a 4-3 ruling handed down June 30 overturned a 2004 decision that created a path for challenging Iowa’s law protecting animal confinement operators from nuisance suits as a violation of the inalienable rights clause of the Iowa Constitution.
In that 2004 ruling,
Under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, a defendant has the right to effective assistance of counsel. This right includes an entitlement to reasonably necessary ancillary services paid at state expenses, including where the defendant is represented by court-appointed counsel. Iowa Code Section 815.1 – … Michelle Brandt, a long-time Cedar Falls city employee, brought claims against the city and several employees stemming from her time working for the city as well as her termination in 2018. Brandt brought claims for interference with and retaliation for her exercise of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rights, and claims … The Iowa Supreme Court’s June 17 ruling overturning its 2018 decision that recognized a fundamental right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution did more than overturn that four-year-old precedent. The Court, in four separate op …Iowa Supreme Court finds that Iowa statute limiting reimbursement for privately retained counsel does not violate Sixth Amendment
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of former City of Cedar Falls employee’s claims against the city
Iowa Supreme Court’s splintered abortion ruling: Four opinions covering 182 pages
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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.