By Ryan Leemkuil Today, the Eighth Circuit ruled that a district court goes too far when it attempts to limit a defendant’s ability to procreate. Christopher Harris, a convicted felon, fathered ten children out of wedlock with seven different women. After Harris was caught…
By Ryan Leemkuil Last month, the Eighth Circuit rejected Arkansas inmate Christopher Deaton’s request to grow a full-length beard for religious reasons. As we noted then, Judge Colloton dissented, arguing that the panel should wait for the Supreme Court’s decision in Holt v. Hobbs, another…
By Ryan Koopmans That was the main question yesterday in Deaton v. Arkansas Department of Correction. Arkansas prisoner Christopher Deaton wants to grow a full-length beard for religious reasons, but prison policy doesn’t allow it because of safety concerns. Deaton sued under the Religious Land Use…
By Ryan Koopmans Twombly and Iqbal aligned the case law with the Federal Rules’ pleading standards, they didn’t change them (nor could they). That was Judge Colloton’s message last week in Horras v. American Capital Strategies, Ltd., an Iowa case about minority shareholder rights. Thomas Horras owned a minority interest in…
The Eighth Circuit Bar Association’s summer newsletter is out, and it contains two articles by Nyemaster Goode attorney and On Brief contributor Ryan Koopmans. The first article discusses the Eighth Circuit’s conflicting, same-day decisions in United States v. Bruguier and United States v. Rouillard. (Our…
A plaintiff suing former coworkers at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines for defamation waited too long to file suit in Polk County District Court because she failed to act on information she knew or should have known that could have formed the basis for a defamation claim before the statute of limitations expired, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a Jan. 9 decision.
Does a foreign corporation consent to the jurisdiction of Iowa’s courts when it registers with the Secretary of State to do business in this state, appoints an agent in Iowa for service of process, and is served with notice of a lawsuit through its Iowa…
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in 18 cases in May 2025.
The Iowa Supreme Court in a decision issued Dec. 23 reaffirmed its 2024 ruling that allowing testimony by minors in criminal trials via one-way closed-circuit video violates defendants’ right to confront their accusers under 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.
