UPDATES & ANALYSIS
Deputy’s misstatements in warrant application were not intentionally false, Iowa Supreme Court rules
A divided Iowa Supreme Court held that evidence procured via a warrant should not have been suppressed by a trial judge because any false statements by a deputy sheriff in support of the warrant were not intentionally made with reckless disregard for the truth.
Jesse Harbach was charged with driving while intoxicated aft …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in 11 cases Feb. 19-21
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in 11 cases Feb. 19-21. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in these cases. Following are brief summaries of the February cases.
Public invited to observe Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments at an evening session Feb. 19
The Iowa Supreme Court will hold a special evening session in Des Moines Feb. 19 to hear oral arguments in a case involving the right of a criminal suspect in police custody to contact a lawyer or family member.
Oral arguments are ordinarily held during mornings or early afternoons in Des Moines, but each term the Court …
Iowa Supreme Court: It is not enough to say that a cow does not belong on a highway
Was it enough for a truck driver who struck a cow on the interstate, seeking to prove the cow’s owner was negligent, to rely upon the very fact that the cow had been allowed to wander onto the highway in the first place?
Not without more, the Iowa Supreme Court said in a read more
December 2023 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in fourteen cases during December 2023. You can read Rox Laird’s analysis of State v. Geddes, State v. Arrieta, Harding v. Sasso, and Hummel v. Smith and Hilts v. Smith. The remaining opinions from December are summarized below.
FEATURED POSTS
Iowa Supreme Court sends question of State Auditor’s application of records law back to district court
The Iowa Supreme Court reversed in part a Polk County District Court ruling granting summary judgment in favor of State Auditor Rob Sand’s withholding release of communications related to the Auditor’s investigation of the governor’s office. The justices sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings on …
Indecent exposure before two witnesses is two crimes, not one, Iowa Supreme Court holds
If two persons simultaneously witness another person masturbating in violation of Iowa’s indecent exposure statute, has that person committed two separate crimes or one crime under Iowa law?
According to the defendant who was convicted by a Story County jury on two counts of indecent exposure for exposing himself and m …
State worker failed to prove boss created a hostile work environment, Iowa Supreme Court holds
The Iowa Supreme Court remanded a $790,000 jury award for a state employee’s hostile-work environment claim to Polk County District Court for entry of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which erases the damage award. The Court held that the plaintiff failed to prove her hostile work environment claim based on what she herself experienced.
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments April 11 on constitutionality of Iowa’s fetal cardiac activity abortion statute
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear its final oral argument of the 2023-24 term Thursday. The Court saved the term’s most-watched case for last: an appeal addressing whether Iowa’s law banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy may be enforced.
The oral argument in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, et al …
STAY UPDATED
Get email alerts. You’ll never miss important posts about court cases, decisions, and news.
EDITORIAL TEAM
ABOUT
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.