Muscatine High School was at bat in the fifth inning and Spencer Ludman was waiting in the dugout for his turn at bat when a foul ball rocketed off a Davenport Assumption player’s bat and struck Ludman in the head. He suffered a skull fracture, spent months recovering from brain injuries and …
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2016-17 Iowa Supreme Court status report: 69 down; 49 to go
Tomorrow the Iowa Supreme Court is expected to hand down one decision, which will bring to 69 the number of cases disposed of in the first seven months of the 2016-17 term.
After the release of tomorrow’s decision, 43 submitted cases will remain to be d …
Iowa Supreme Court 2016-17 preview: Did Iowa’s anti-slavery delegates in 1857 give criminal defendants broader rights today?
Eight years before the Civil War, drafters of the Iowa Constitution incorporated language into the Bill of Rights aimed at protecting the rights of fugitive slaves who traveled to Iowa. A convicted murderer is now asking the Iowa Supreme Court to apply that language in granting his bid for a ne …
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 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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Iowa Supreme Court issues split rulings on firearms rights
The Iowa Supreme Court handed down two rulings Feb. 21 addressing firearms rights under state and federal law.
Iowa Supreme Court holds it had authority to extend statute of limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an order temporarily extending the two-year statute of limitations in civil cases by 76 days.
Names of applicants seeking appointment to Scott County Board of Supervisors are public records, Iowa Supreme Court holds
Scott County officials violated the Iowa Open Records Act when they made an appointment to fill a mid-term vacancy on the Board of Supervisors without publicly revealing the identities of any of the applicants, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a 4-3 decision handed down Feb. 14.
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in nine cases Feb. 17-19
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in nine cases Feb. 17, 18, and 19. Four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the February cases, not including an attorney disciplinary 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.