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 Multistate Lottery Association security…
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…
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…
Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court engaged in a lively exchange with lawyers Wednesday in a case involving the extent of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ authority to protect deer from Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Tom and Rhonda Brakke closed their Davis County whitetail…
It is hard to predict where the Iowa Supreme Court might go with an immigration case argued Thursday based on the questions directed at the opposing lawyers. Martha Martinez, who came to the United States at the age of 11, is being tried in Muscatine…
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In February, the Court of Appeals selected six opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
Christopher Hidlebaugh accepted a financial challenge in a plea deal with the State: purchase a home to avoid going to prison on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender. The deal fell apart, however, when Hidlebaugh was unable to qualify for financing to purchase a home, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Dallas County District Court.
A Guthrie County woman made statements to her son that he interpreted as serious threats of violence against a Department of Health and Human Services child protective worker and a judge six days ahead of a hearing regarding the Department’s removal of her minor children from her care. His concerns were reported to law enforcement, and she was subsequently convicted on one count of threat of terrorism under Iowa Code Chapter 708A.
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in ten cases in January 2026. On Brief has analyzed three opinions in separate posts. The remaining opinions from January are summarized below.
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.
