Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upends Voting Rights Act precedents on who has the right to challenge laws based on race or color
In the nearly six decades since the Voting Rights Act was enacted by Congress, federal judges have assumed private parties could bring suits in federal court to enforce the law that prohibits state or federal election policies that deny the right to vote based on race or color.
That assumption was upended in a Nov. 20 de …
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Edited body camera video should not have been admitted in OWI trial, Iowa Supreme Court rules
October 2023 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in seven cases during October 2023. You can find in-depth summaries of two cases at the following links:
- In the Matter of V.H., 22-0952
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven cases Nov. 15 and 16
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in seven cases Nov. 15 and 16. Eight other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the November cases. [Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in …
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The State of Iowa, not employees, must pay dues owed to union, Iowa Supreme Court rules
Federal appeals court to hear arguments in three cases at Drake Law School Oct. 26
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear arguments in three Iowa cases at Drake University Law School Oct. 26. The session is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Neal and Bea Smith Law Center at 2400 University.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has courthouses in St. Lou …
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No right to self representation in civil commitment case, Iowa Supreme Court rules
Question before Iowa Supreme Court: Is it enough to say a cow does not belong on a highway?
A driver whose vehicle collides with a cow wandering on a highway might logically assume the owner of the cow is, by definition, responsible for the driver’s injuries and damage to the vehicle. By that logic, the injured driver shouldn’t have to provide evidence of precisely how the owner failed to prevent the cow’s mea …
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Iowa Court of Appeals denies new trial for Cristhian Bahena Rivera
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in eight cases Oct. 10 and 11
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases Oct. 10 and 11. Five additional cases will be submitted to the Court without oral arguments. Following are brief summaries of the October cases. [Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read the briefs f …
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June 2024 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in fifteen cases during June 2024. In addition to individual posts on six cases analyzed on this blog, the remaining opinions from June are summarized below.
Iowa Court of Appeals July 2024 Published Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. On July 3, 2024, the Court of Appeals selected four opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
May 2024 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in eighteen cases during May 2024. Opinions from May not covered elsewhere on this blog are summarized below.
In four opinions over 61 pages, Iowa Supreme Court wrestles with meaning of Fourth Amendment
Does a drug-sniffing dog violate a suspect’s constitutional protection against unreasonable government search and seizure by putting its paws up on the suspect’s car at the urging of its handler?
Five members of the Iowa Supreme Court said that subjecting the suspect’s car to a sniff by a drug-sniffing dog violated …
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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.