Iowa Supreme Court Justice Brent Appel will retire from the Court effective June 13 after serving on the Court for 16 years. Appel, who turns 72 this year, reached the mandatory retirement age prescribed by Iowa Code Chapter 602. The Court will hold a retirement...
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in 10 cases Wednesday and Thursday
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in 10 appeals Oct. 20 and 21. Another four cases will be submitted to the Court without argument. Following are summaries of 12 of those cases. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipeline page to read briefs in these...

Iowa Supreme Court to again look at question of removing passengers from vehicles during roadside stops
An O’Brien County man is urging the Iowa Supreme Court to establish a more stringent standard under the Iowa Constitution for conducting roadside searches of passengers of a vehicle pulled over for a routine traffic stop. The appeal in State v. Hauge will be heard at...

Iowa Supreme Court will go on the road Sept. 23 to hear case involving police search of Lyft passenger
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in a criminal appeal when it makes its first post-Covid trip outside the Judicial Branch Building for an oral argument in Oskaloosa on Sept. 23. A key issue in the case is whether a passenger in the vehicle operated by a...
Christopher McDonald talks about his approach to being an appellate judge in podcast interview
In a new “In the Balance” podcast interview, Iowa Supreme Court Justice Christopher McDonald talks about his career as a lawyer in private practice and as a trial and appellate judge, his approach to oral arguments, and what it means to be the first person of color...
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Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in 11 cases Feb. 21 and 22
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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.