UPDATES & ANALYSIS

by Rox Laird | March 19, 2020

The Iowa Supreme Court has a little over three months left in its current term, but the last oral arguments have already been heard, as a result of schedule changes forced by the coronavirus outbreak.

In recent days, Chief Justice Susan Christensen has issued a string of orders (accessible on the Judicial Branch website) regarding jury and bench trials, hearings, and hours at offices of county clerks of court.

The Judicial Branch Building is closed to the public, and members of the staff of the Iowa Court of Appeals have been authorized to work from home.

Both the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals will decide appeals without oral arguments at least through May 15. Cases that had been scheduled for oral argument before either court may be submitted without argument, or by video or telephone conference, at the courts’ discretion, under Christensen’s order.

The Supreme Court had scheduled two cases to be heard outside the Judicial Branch Building, one on March 26 at Drake Law School, and the other on March 31 in Oskaloosa. Both cases will now be submitted to the Court without oral argument.

The Court had also scheduled two days of oral arguments in Des Moines on April 7 and April 8, the last scheduled arguments for the 2019-2020 term.

Tags: Iowa Supreme Court, Iowa Supreme Court 2019-20, Oral Arguments