by Rox Laird | June 17, 2020
A Burlington woman injured in a biking accident on a park trail can proceed with her lawsuit against the city in Des Moines County District Court, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in a decision handed down June 12. In its decision in Breese v. City of Burlington, the...
by Rox Laird | June 12, 2020
“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow,” the song says, but when the snow ends, the Iowa Supreme Court says exposure to legal liability begins. The Court in a decision handed down June 5 rejected an argument that it abandon its 67-year-old “continuing storm” doctrine...
by Rox Laird | May 14, 2020
When prosecutors dismissed a marijuana possession charge against Lori Mathes in Monona County, she thought that was the end of her ordeal, with the exception of what she understood to be a $500 bill for court costs. Instead, the court’s dismissal order included nearly...
by Rox Laird | April 22, 2020
Iowa law requires that criminal defendants who invoke a “stand your ground” defense must have informed law-enforcement authorities of the use of deadly force. That requirement, on its face, may or may not violate a defendant’s constitutional rights, but a defendant’s...
by Rox Laird | March 30, 2020
Two Wapello County residents who brought nuisance suits against operators of hog confinements and later voluntarily dropped them must pay the defendants’ costs, including legal fees, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled March 27. Michael Merrill and Karen Jo Frescoln were...
