Danielle Brown was one of five people in the bedroom of a house when a Des Moines police SWAT team swarmed in to execute a warrant naming a male occupant of the house to be searched for drugs and weapons. Brown was not named in the warrant but police searched her purse and found a small amount …
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Eighth Circuit upholds Sorenson prison sentence for lying about taking money for political endorsements
Former Iowa State Sen. Kent Sorenson’s 15-month sentence in federal prison for lying about taking payments for political endorsements was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors had recommended …
Iowa Supreme Court urged to ban criminal prosecution of 13-year-olds in adult court
The Iowa Supreme Court is being asked to take another step toward protecting juvenile offenders from prison sentences designed for adults in an appeal set for argument Tuesday.
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Iowa Supreme Court finds a warrantless breath test while operating a boat was involuntary and violated the Iowa Constitution.
Supreme Court’s lottery ruling a lesson for Iowa law enforcement
Law enforcement authorities who dilly-dally in investigating crimes face the prospect of losing at trial because the statute of limitations clock has run out, the Iowa Supreme ruled Friday.
The Court threw out the 2015 conviction of Eddie Tipton, a former M …
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Iowa Supreme Court: Union Pacific Railroad not liable for worker’s suicide
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. is not liable under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) for the death of an employee who took his own life from emotional distress caused by his supervisor’ harassment, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down April 25.
Kera Morgan, as administrator of her late husb …
Iowa Supreme Court removes judicial magistrate from bench for racially derogatory and ‘demeaning and sophomoric’ statements
The Iowa Supreme Court removed a part-time judicial magistrate from the bench in a unanimous decision issued April 18 for violations of the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct in making a racially derogatory statement in an open court proceeding and by making a “demeaning and sophomoric” justification in a written order denying an arrest warrant.
Iowa Supreme Court revives suit against Polk County over rezoning decision on Family Leader project
Five individual plaintiffs living near a non-profit group’s proposed office and event center have standing to pursue claims alleging they would be injured by development in what is now an area zoned for agricultural use. The Iowa Supreme Court reached this conclusion in a decision handed down April 4.
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven cases April 15 and 16
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in seven cases April 15 and 16. Two other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the April cases with the exception of one attorney discipline 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.