By Ryan Koopmans Friend and former colleague Brian Boone has co-written a funny little article about the age-old debate: “pleaded” versus “pled.” I’m a “pled” man myself, but Brian makes a persuasive case for“pleaded.” Read the competing arguments and vote for your favorite word here.
By Ryan Koopmans The Green Bag (the “Entertaining Journal of Law”) has released its 2012 Exemplary Legal Writing honorees. The list includes familiar judges, law professors, and practitioners, and covers everything from judicial opinions to commencement addresses. Reading these authors will make you a better writer. So do it,…
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In February, the Court of Appeals selected six opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
Christopher Hidlebaugh accepted a financial challenge in a plea deal with the State: purchase a home to avoid going to prison on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender. The deal fell apart, however, when Hidlebaugh was unable to qualify for financing to purchase a home, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Dallas County District Court.
A Guthrie County woman made statements to her son that he interpreted as serious threats of violence against a Department of Health and Human Services child protective worker and a judge six days ahead of a hearing regarding the Department’s removal of her minor children from her care. His concerns were reported to law enforcement, and she was subsequently convicted on one count of threat of terrorism under Iowa Code Chapter 708A.
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in ten cases in January 2026. On Brief has analyzed three opinions in separate posts. The remaining opinions from January are summarized below.
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.
