A former public employee may bring a claim of being wrongfully fired for performing the assigned duty of releasing government records to the public under the Iowa Open Records Act, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down June 23. The ruling sends…
In an opinion filed June 23, 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court held a plaintiff suing her employer’s landlord for exposure to toxic chemicals at work did not present sufficient evidence to create a material dispute of fact concerning whether the exposure caused her permanent lung…
In 2017, Jena McCoy was hired as a sales representative for Thomas L Cardella & Associates’ call center in Ottumwa, Iowa. She alleged that within her first few weeks on the job, her supervisor, John Thompson, “began sitting next to her in her cubicle, touching…
Six justices of the Iowa Supreme Court were deadlocked on a constitutional “takings” question in a case involving a plan by MidAmerican Energy to construct a power transmission line along a highway right-of-way that crosses a Madison County resident’s property. MidAmerican applied for a franchise…
In a 3-3 decision, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed a district court ruling refusing to dissolve a 2019 injunction against enforcement of a law known as the “fetal heartbeat law,” which would prohibit most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Though the lack of…
The Court heard oral argument in In re Detention of Harlow on September 9 and filed its opinion on October 9. Chief Justice Christensen wrote for the court that unanimously affirmed the district court’s judgment committing Joshua Harlow as a sexually violent predator (SVP).
On September 10, the Iowa Supreme Court heard the oral arguments in the case of State v. Belt and issued its opinion on October 2.
Is it inherently prejudicial to have a uniformed sheriff’s deputy stand next to the witness box while the defendant testifies?
Under what circumstances may a court reviewing a religious university’s decision to deny a religious exemption under the Iowa Civil Rights Act determine whether a student’s religious beliefs are genuine?
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.
