Iowa Supreme Court 2016-17 preview: Does confidentiality in a ‘morbidity and mortality’ report apply to a dislocated shoulder?
Dennis Willard was admitted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for treatment of injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. Among his injuries was a dislocated shoulder, but Willard alleges that was inflicted by hospital staff while he was sedated. Now he is asking the Iowa Supreme …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Iowa 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 …
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Felony-murder rule can be applied to juveniles, Iowa Supreme Court rules
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the felony-murder rule may be applied to juvenile offenders in a decision upholding the sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole for a defendant who was 16 at the time of the crime.
Keyon Harrison was found guilty by a Polk County jury of first-degree murder for his role …
Defendant did not violate the Iowa Civil Rights Act for discrimination it was unaware of, Iowa Supreme Court rules
An applicant for a firefighter position is rejected after the employer’s consulting physician concludes the applicant is medically unqualified without disclosing the reason: The applicant had recently had symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Did the employer violate the disability discrimination provision of the Iowa Civ …
Iowa Supreme Court sticks with its precedent on livestock nuisance suits
The Iowa Supreme Court sent a lawsuit back to Wapello District Court to make factual findings on whether an Iowa law that protects livestock-confinement operators from nuisance liability violates the affected neighbors’ constitutional rights.
The Court in
Iowa’s mandatory sex-offender registry for juveniles who commit a sex offense by force is the equivalent of criminal punishment, a divided Iowa Supreme Court ruled June 15, but it’s not unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. Thus, the Court co …Iowa Supreme Court splits, again, on a juvenile sentencing case
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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.