Iowa 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 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
FEATURED POSTS
Lay Landowner Cannot Testify About Specific Comparable Sales to Support the Valuation of His Land Without Expert Testimony, Iowa Supreme Court Rules
Iowa has long recognized what is know as “the property owner rule,” which permits a landowner to testify as a non-expert in condemnation cases about the landowner’s opinion of the value of its own property. Iowa has also long recognized that property values can be supported by the prices paid in comparable land sales. …
Miranda-Type Warning Not Required For Pat-Down Searches, Iowa Supreme Court Rules
In an opinion issued on Friday, April 22, the Iowa Supreme Court held in State v. Hauge that a law enforcement officer was justified in requesting that a front-seat passenger exit a two-door vehicle in order to arrest a backseat pas …
Iowa Supreme Court and Eighth Circuit Uphold Denials Of Insurance Coverage Arising From COVID-19 Business Closures
In separate opinions, each issued on Friday, April 22, the Iowa Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that businesses that closed in spring 2020 to comply with COVID-19 emergency regulations could not obtain coverage under commercial insurance policies that required “direct physi …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear oral argument in one case April 20
The Iowa Supreme Court on April 20 will hear its final scheduled oral argument for the 2021-22 term, which ends in June.
One case, Hoffman v. Clark, will be argued at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Two other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “
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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.