Iowa 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 moreIowa Supreme Court preview: Can you claim ‘actual innocence’ after pleading guilty to a crime?
If you plead guilty to a criminal charge can you later claim you are in fact innocent after your accuser recants his testimony?
That question will be before the Iowa Supreme Court in Schmidt v. Iowa this term.
read more
Cities may have dodged a procedural nightmare in Iowa Supreme Court’s ‘Field of Dreams’ ruling
Last week’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling upholding a Dyersville rezoning decision may have gotten the attention of movie fans and baseball nostalgia buffs who remember the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” filmed on location near the Dubuque County town.
But …
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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
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 … Convicted offenders serving indeterminate prison sentences in Iowa do not have a constitutional right to parole, the Iowa Supreme Court has held in the past. But in a decision handed down Nov. 23, Bomgaars, et al., v. State, the Cou … 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 …Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in eight appeals Dec. 14 and 15
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
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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.