The Iowa Supreme Court will have a full complement of seven justices when Christopher McDonald is sworn in. McDonald, 44, was appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds this week, replacing Justice Daryl Hecht, who retired last year as he battles melanoma. Reynolds’ second appointee, after naming…
President Donald Trump’s appointment of Sioux City native Jonathan Kobes to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit was confirmed by the U.S. Senate Dec. 11. The vote was split 50-50 with Vice President Mike Pence supplying the tie-breaking vote. Kobes will replace…
David Danilson, chief judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals, has announced his retirement effective Jan. 4, 2019. Danilson said he hopes to continue to serve as a senior judge on the appeals court after retiring, according to a press release from the Iowa Judicial…
By Ryan Koopmans Today, Reuters reporter David Ingram asks: Who would President Romney nominate to the Supreme Court? Based on his conversations with lawyers in the know, Ingram ticks off ten possibilities, and that list includes Eighth Circuit Judge, and Iowa native, Steven Colloton. Judge Colloton–a former…
By Ryan Koopmans This morning the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging Iowa’s method of electing members of the State Judicial Nominating Commission under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Court rejected Plaintiff’s argument that Iowa’s system…
The Court heard oral argument in In re Detention of Harlow on September 9 and filed its opinion on October 9. Chief Justice Christensen wrote for the court that unanimously affirmed the district court’s judgment committing Joshua Harlow as a sexually violent predator (SVP).
On September 10, the Iowa Supreme Court heard the oral arguments in the case of State v. Belt and issued its opinion on October 2.
Is it inherently prejudicial to have a uniformed sheriff’s deputy stand next to the witness box while the defendant testifies?
Under what circumstances may a court reviewing a religious university’s decision to deny a religious exemption under the Iowa Civil Rights Act determine whether a student’s religious beliefs are genuine?
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.
