Eighth Circuit: Your Facebook post could get you kicked out of school
A conversation with the Court: Three Iowa Supreme Court justices sit down with Rox Laird to talk about life on and off the bench
When he needs a diversion from the job, Chief Justice Mark Cady loses himself in home improvement projects. Justice Daryl Hecht sings and plays an acoustic guitar. Justice Brent Appel plants trees on the family’s acreage.
The three justices, who are stand …
read moreIowa Supreme Court argument recap: Justices keep cards close to the vest in immigration case
It is hard to predict where the Iowa Supreme Court might go with an immigration case argued Thursday based on the questions directed at the opposing lawyers.
Martha Martinez, who came to the United States at the age of 11, is being tried in Muscatine County …
read moreIowa Supreme Court 2016-17 Preview: Does federal immigration policy preempt Iowa’s criminal laws?
Martha Martinez was brought to the United States in 1997, when she was 11 years old and has lived in Muscatine as an undocumented immigrant ever since. So when President Barack Obama established the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” by executive order in 2012, Martinez saw an opportu …
read moreIowa Supreme Court 2016-17 Preview: Appeal in 12-year-old murder case arrives at the Iowa Supreme Court Wednesday
Arguments in a long-running legal battle over a Des Moines murder case that has been in the news will be heard by the Iowa Supreme Court Wednesday. The outcome could determine whether an accused accomplice will go to prison for life.
Ankeny businessman Ve …
read moreCourt adds another case to juvenile sentencing lineup
A fourth case has been added to the Iowa Supreme Court’s October calendar on the question of how the Iowa Department of Corrections should calculate early discharge dates for offenders convicted as juveniles.
The court on Oct. 20 is scheduled to
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read moreMost Iowa lawyers back retention of all 66 judges on the Nov. 8 ballot
Voting begins officially today when Iowans can begin casting absentee ballots at county auditor offices.
That will be the first time many voters will see the complete General Election ballot – including the names of 66 Iowa appeals court and trial court j …
read moreIowa Supreme Court 2016-17 Preview: What a difference 15 eighty-fifths can make in your day
Iowa Supreme Court justices and courtroom observers may need calculators to follow an oral argument next month in a case that involves how quickly prison inmates earn the right to early discharge from their sentences.
Two Iowa women convicted as juveniles …
read moreOral Argument recap: A shorthanded Iowa Supreme Court seems skeptical in Water Works case
If you were a lawyer for the Des Moines Water Works, you might have wondered what happened to your case when two of seven justices were not on the bench for Wednesday’s oral argument.
The fact that Justices David Wiggins and Daryl Hecht were absent signal …
read moreIowa Supreme Court Water Works Argument: Will the Iowa Supreme Court reverse precedent through a certified question?
By Ryan Koopmans
When the Des Moines Water Works attorney steps up to argue tomorrow, he’ll likely be swimming up stream–if for no other reason than the fact that the justices are not hearing a case but instead are being asked to decide a “certified question” from a federal court. …
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Article on Iowa dairy farm made potentially defamatory statements about California congressman, Eighth Circuit rules
In 2019 California Congressman Devin Nunes sued political writer Ryan Lizza and Esquire magazine in federal court claiming a 2018 story in the magazine defamed him by falsely implying that Nunes conspired to hide the suggestion that the Nunes family’s dairy farm in northwest Iowa employs undocumented immigrants.
U.S. D …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear seven cases Wednesday and Thursday
The Iowa Supreme Court kicks off its 2021-22 term with oral arguments Sept. 15 and 16, on seven appeals. Seven additional cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. The Court also will hear an oral argument in Oskaloosa on Sept. 23. (Read our earlier
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 … 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 …Federal appeals court ruling puts legal saga of Indian casino in Iowa nearer to conclusion
Iowa Supreme Court will go on the road Sept. 23 to hear case involving police search of Lyft passenger
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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.