Eugene Sikora sued the State of Iowa and the Iowa Corrections Director seeking money damages claiming he was wrongly imprisoned for about five months longer than the law allowed due to a miscalculation by the Department of Corrections. The Iowa Supreme Court, in a 4-3…
The Iowa Supreme Court reversed the Iowa Court of Appeals’ decision in part in McClure v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., a case regarding a former Corteva Agriscience (“Corteva”) employee’s termination and the employee’s allegations of discrimination and retaliation against Corteva.
A police officer legally searched a fanny pack after a suspect had removed it and handed it to a companion, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a June 20 decision, because the fanny pack was removed at the moment the officer was attempting to handcuff and arrest the suspect.
In Estate of Kahn v. City of Clermont, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed the district court’s decision to dismiss two estates’ claims for premises liability and negligence brought against the City of Clermont, Fayette County Conservation Board, Fayette County, and the State of Iowa.
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in ten cases in December 2024. At the links immediately below, you can read Rox Laird’s analysis of the following opinions: State of Iowa v. Ashlee Marie Mumford, concerning Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure; Bryan Singer,…
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.
In a 5–2 decision filed on June 12, 2026, the Iowa Supreme Court in State v. Gibbs upheld a mother’s three child endangerment convictions under Iowa Code section 726.6(1)(a). Chief Justice Christensen wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices McDonald, Oxley, McDermott, and May. Justice Mansfield filed a partial dissent, joined by Justice Waterman, concurring as to two convictions but dissenting as to the third.
In a unanimous decision filed on May 22, 2026, the Iowa Supreme Court in State v. Hall held that a defendant need not be the person who initiated an encounter to commit harassment.
In a divided 5–2 decision issued on March 27, 2026, the Iowa Supreme Court held that the search of a visitor’s backpack found on the premises during the execution of a search warrant did not violate the visitor’s rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution.
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.
