Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could affect future wind power regulation
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Forest City April 2 in a case that raises for the first time a question about how Iowa law regulating approval of electric generating facilities applies to wind energy projects.
The argument, which is open …
read moreJudges must know offenders’ ability to pay before ordering restitution, Iowa Supreme Court rules
Sentencing courts must know how much a convicted offender is reasonably able to pay before ordering payment of restitution to the State, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in three separate cases March 22.
In all three cases, the sentencing courts ordered offen …
read moreA second urine test needed for OWI conviction, Iowa Supreme Court rules
An initial urine test by itself, without follow-up confirmation, was insufficient evidence for convicting a driver of operating while under the influence of a controlled substance, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled March 8 (read more
Iowa Supreme Court says insurance liability must be shared in a tragic shooting death
A couple of teenage boys are out for some dirt-bike and ATV riding at rural retreat when one of the boys is fatally injured in a tragic shooting accident. The farmhouse on the retreat where the shooting occurred is insured by a homeowners’ policy and by a separate commercial general liability …
read moreThe Iowa Supreme Court grapples with alleged jury confusion with instructions in a comparative fault case, but declines to order a new trial
Jurors in a Pottawattamie County medical malpractice trial submitted a question to the court during jury deliberations about the meaning of instructions given to them by the trial judge for apportioning fault to a settled party, but the judge did not commit a prejudicial error by failing to cla …
read moreIowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases March 5 and 6
The Iowa Supreme Court entered the home stretch of its 2018-19 term March 1, with four months remaining before the administrative term begins in July.
The Court has disposed of 38 of the 90 cases submitted thus far this term. The Court has scheduled five …
read moreChristopher McDonald elevated to the Iowa Supreme Court by Governor Reynolds
The Iowa Supreme Court will have a full complement of seven justices when Christopher McDonald is sworn in. McDonald, 44, was appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds this week, replacing Justice Daryl Hecht, who retired last year as he battles melanoma.
Reynolds …
read moreIowa Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in five cases Feb. 12 and 13
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in five cases Feb. 12 and 13, and four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipeline read more
Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in a police-shooting case in an evening session Feb. 5
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral argument Feb. 5 in an interlocutory appeal in a civil suit brought by a Cedar Rapids man who was shot by a Cedar Rapids police officer during a 2016 traffic stop, which left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Oral argume …
read moreIowa Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in eight cases Jan. 23 and 24
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in eight cases Jan. 23 and 24. Four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument.
Among the cases set for argument is an appeal by two transgender women challenging a decision by …
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Iowa Supreme Court allows open records suit to proceed, saying the Governor is not immune from such litigation
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the Polk County District Court’s denial of a motion to dismiss a suit brought by journalists claiming Gov. Kim Reynolds and other staffers within her office violated the Iowa Open Records Act. In reaching that decision, the Court held the plaintiffs’ claims against the Governor did not vi …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in three cases April 11, including on enforcement of Iowa’s fetal-heartbeat abortion law
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in three cases April 11. A fourth case will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are summaries of the cases. [Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in these cases.]
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Oral argument on the right to a jury will be heard by Iowa Supreme Court in session in Perry April 4
In July 2020 the Iowa Attorney General filed a civil suit alleging a now-defunct Omaha company violated Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act in marketing stem-cell and exosome therapy treatments using false, misleading, and deceptive tactics.
When the case went to trial in Polk County District Court, the defendant, Travis Autor, …
Iowa Supreme Court sends case on “protectionist” legislation back to trial court with pointed language about legislative logrolling
The Iowa Constitution requires that bills enacted by the General Assembly contain a single subject in the title. Although legislators often use vaguely general titles on bills that contain many unrelated provisions, the Iowa Supreme Court has been reluctant to declare the practice unconstitutional: In the 166 years since th …
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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.