Danielle Brown was one of five people in the bedroom of a house when a Des Moines police SWAT team swarmed in to execute a warrant naming a male occupant of the house to be searched for drugs and weapons. Brown was not named in the warrant but police searched her purse and found a small amount …
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Iowa Supreme Court asked: Is it possible to say the road not taken would have led to better place?
A southeast Iowa woman is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to overturn its 2010 decision that she says imposes an impossible burden on workers’ compensation claimants: proving that the outcome of the medical procedure they chose is better than a hypothetical alternative.
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Iowa Supreme Court restores sentence reduction in a ruling affecting 150 inmates
The Iowa Supreme Court in its first decision of the term handed down Oct. 13 agreed with a convicted sex offender that his prison sentence was wrongly extended by more than three years by the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC).
The IDOC’s recent poli …
A question in traffic-camera appeals: Do you have a constitutional right to break the speed limit in Iowa?
A legal dispute over a $75 traffic citation could have implications for thousands of drivers who receive speeding tickets in the mail based on evidence captured by an automated traffic-enforcement camera.
A number of lawsuits have been working their way thr …
Iowa Supreme Court: Plaintiffs may sue State for damages under the Iowa Constitution
Iowa’s former Workers’ Compensation Commissioner has a right to sue the State for monetary damages under the Iowa Constitution, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.
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Iowa Court of Appeals outlines analysis for parental rights’ termination and reunification extension
Minor child B.W. was exposed to drug use from the day he was born, testing positive for cocaine and initiating intervention by the Iowa District Court for Polk County. In an effort to foster harmony and a healthy living environment for the child, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services attempted to assist the family …
March 2024 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in ten cases during March 2024. These opinions are summarized below.
Iowa Supreme Court partially affirms trial court in mixed Cedar Rapids public records decision
Cedar Rapids resident Robert Teig asked Cedar Rapids city officials for records related to the hiring of a new city clerk and city attorney. When they mostly denied Teig’s requests, he filed suit naming six Cedar Rapids officials as defendants, which the Linn County District Court dismissed on summary judgment.
Teig ma …
Iowa Supreme Court sends ‘stand your ground’ case back for new trial
Lasondra Johnson was tried for first-degree murder for the shooting death of Jada Young-Mills outside a Waterloo residence. Johnson argued she acted in self defense and the shooting was justified under Iowa’s “stand your ground” law that says a person is justified in the use of reasonable force in the belief that such …
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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.