Iowa Supreme Court: The Constitution does not require special treatment for juveniles on restitution orders
The Iowa Supreme Court has declined to add another criminal-sentencing exception for juvenile offenders in a pair of rulings regarding Iowa’s mandatory $150,000 restitution in murder cases.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a series of cases over the la …
read moreIowa Supreme Court oral argument recap: Justices see a problem with jury selection, but no easy solution
It’s not often a lawyer can predict the outcome of a case based on an appellate court oral argument. But more than one Iowa Supreme Court justice readily acknowledged Tuesday that Des Moines attorney Gary Dickey exposed a constitutional problem with Iowa’s process for selecting jurie …
read moreIowa Supreme Court oral argument recap: Should courts keep a lid on the box?
Lawyers arguing a case before the Iowa Supreme Court Tuesday presented sharply contrasting views of justice: One view is that denying an innocent defendant the right to appeal is a miscarriage of justice; the other view is that the interest of justice in finality is not served by opening the do …
read moreIowa Supreme Court 2016-17 preview: Is it possible to guarantee racial balance on Iowa juries?
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says criminal defendants have the right to a jury made up of a cross-section of the community. Assembling a jury that precisely reflects a community’s racial makeup can be statistically challenging in a state with small percentages of racial minori …
read moreTrump will have three Eighth Circuit vacancies to fill
Besides filling the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, President Donald Trump has at least 17 vacancies to fill on the federal appeals courts around the country.
That includes three vacancies on the U.S. Court …
read moreHow Iowa’s appellate courts have changed over four decades
The Iowa Court of Appeals is celebrating an anniversary this month. Forty years ago five judges appointed to the new court by Gov. Robert D. Ray began hearing cases to relieve the growing workload of the Iowa Supreme Court.
The Legislature’s creation of t …
read moreU.S. Supreme Court denies appeal in Iowa City murder case
Iowa Supreme Court Preview: Homicide victim pummeled by 15 people; does it matter which one(s) delivered the deadly blows?
Two men who say they were wrongly convicted of second-degree murder in connection with a beating death in Des Moines want the Iowa Supreme Court to vacate their convictions or order new trials.
James Shorter and Yarvon Russell were convicted by a Polk Cou …
read moreSCOTUS denies appeal of Eighth Circuit agricultural wetlands ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday shut the door to an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on how the U.S. Department of Agriculture defines agricultural wetlands.
That leaves in place the Eighth Circuit read more
Chief justice gets big applause from lawmakers, but will it translate into more funding for the courts?
Longtime observers of annual Condition of the Judiciary addresses to the General Assembly might agree Chief Justice Mark Cady got a record number of standing ovations Wednesday morning. The question is whether all that hearty applause will translate into more fiscal resources for Iowa’s court …
read moreFEATURED POSTS
Federal appeals court ruling puts legal saga of Indian casino in Iowa nearer to conclusion
The Ponca Indian Tribe of Nebraska is a step closer to winning a long-running legal dispute over a casino it operates on land it owns in Carter Lake, Iowa, as a result of an Aug. 30 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The Ponca Tr …
Iowa Supreme Court will go on the road Sept. 23 to hear case involving police search of Lyft passenger
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in a criminal appeal when it makes its first post-Covid trip outside the Judicial Branch Building for an oral argument in Oskaloosa on Sept. 23. A key issue in the case is whether a passenger in the vehicle operated by a ride-hailing service such as Lyft or Uber may be ordered to e …
Christopher McDonald talks about his approach to being an appellate judge in podcast interview
In a new “In the Balance” podcast interview, Iowa Supreme Court Justice Christopher McDonald talks about his career as a lawyer in private practice and as a trial and appell …
Iowa Supreme Court 2020-21 statistical review: Christensen Court thinks outside voting blocs
After two previous terms marked by historic turnover due to retirements, deaths, and new appointments, the Iowa Supreme Court closed the books on the 2020-21 term last month with all seven justices serving the entire term.
Thus it’s possible to observe some trends among new members of the Court as well as the veteran jus …
APPELLATE CALENDAR
EDITORIAL TEAM
ABOUT
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.