In 2019 California Congressman Devin Nunes sued political writer Ryan Lizza and Esquire magazine in federal court claiming a 2018 story in the magazine defamed him by falsely implying that Nunes conspired to hide the suggestion that the Nunes family’s dairy farm in northwest Iowa…
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reinstated manslaughter charges against a South Dakota woman who gave birth to a live baby that died within hours of toxicity from a combination of legal and illegal drugs the mother ingested…
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that likely will decide whether a Sioux Falls, S.D., newspaper should have access to food-stamp spending at specific retail stores. Considerable interest has…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled this past Tuesday that a designated driver should not be held to a greater degree of fault for a passenger’s injuries than the passenger. (Amy Hiltner v. Owners Insurance Company.) The panel decision by Judge…
A Christian evangelist who wants to take his religious message to the Iowa State Fair has again been rebuffed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The federal appeals court based in St. Louis, which has jurisdiction in seven Midwest states including…
The last four Iowa Supreme Court terms—from the 2022-2023 term to the recently concluded 2025-2026 term—have seen a stylistic shift in how the Court articulates its rulings.
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a personal injury claim arising from an accident involving a horse-drawn sickle mower in a unanimous decision filed on June 12, 2026. In Shafer v. Santana, the Court held that a farmer operating a horse drawn sickle mower was engaged in the “domesticated animal activity” of driving under Iowa’s Domesticated Animal Activities Act, despite the fact that the horses were briefly stopped when the injury occurred.
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In July, the Court of Appeals selected two opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of a human trafficking charge and clarified that, under the 2024 statute, a defendant cannot commit human trafficking by attempting to buy sex from a victim who does not exist.
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.
