By Ryan Koopmans Governor Branstad has appointed District Judge Thomas Bower to the Iowa Court of Appeals. Judge Bower, an 18-year veteran of the First Judicial District and current Chief Judge of the district, will fill the vacancy left by Chief Judge Rosemary Shaw Sackett. This is Governor Branstad’s…
By Ryan Koopmans The State Judicial Nominating Commission interviewed 18 candidates today for the Court of Appeals and selected three: (1) Thomas Bower, chief judge of the First Judicial District; (2) Susan Christensen, district associate judge of the Fourth Judicial District; and (3) Jeanie Vaudt,…
By Ryan Koopmans The State Judicial Nominating Commission is calling for applications to fill the the vacancy that will be created when Chief Judge Rosemary Sackett retires in January. Applications are due by October 31, and the Commission will meet on November 8 and 9 to interview and…
The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments in seven cases on September 9th and 10th. Five other cases were submitted to the Court without oral argument. The following are summaries of those cases.
The last four Iowa Supreme Court terms—from the 2022-2023 term to the recently concluded 2025-2026 term—have seen a stylistic shift in how the Court articulates its rulings.
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a personal injury claim arising from an accident involving a horse-drawn sickle mower in a unanimous decision filed on June 12, 2026. In Shafer v. Santana, the Court held that a farmer operating a horse drawn sickle mower was engaged in the “domesticated animal activity” of driving under Iowa’s Domesticated Animal Activities Act, despite the fact that the horses were briefly stopped when the injury occurred.
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In July, the Court of Appeals selected two opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
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.
