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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November 2024 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in eleven cases in November 2024. In addition to the four cases covered in individual stories on the blog, the remaining opinions from November are summarized below.
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in 10 cases Dec. 17 and 18
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in 10 cases Dec. 17 and 18, and three other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the December cases.
No Fourth Amendment violation in vehicle search after drug-sniffing dog sticks its nose through an open window, Iowa Supreme Court holds
The Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure was not violated when a drug detection dog inserted its nose into the open window of a suspect’s vehicle, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a divided Dec. 6 decision.
Landowners challenging DOT eminent domain action missed a critical filing deadline, Iowa Supreme Court holds
Owners of farmland in Story County seeking to block the Iowa Department of Transportation’s condemnation of part of their property for a highway project succeeded in getting their appeal before the Iowa Supreme Court even after missing one filing deadline, but they lost their bid to revive their case in district court because they missed a second and critical deadline.
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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.