UPDATES & ANALYSIS
![Iowa Supreme Court: All voters count where referendum petitions are concerned](https://iowaappeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2019-11-11-DMPS-Community-Stadium-at-Drake-Boards-LINCOLN-1080x675.jpg)
Iowa Supreme Court: All voters count where referendum petitions are concerned
On Election Day, voters may skip some races on the ballot while voting in others. “Undervoting” ordinarily is not an issue, but it presents one for purposes of Iowa’s statute that calculates the number of signatures needed on a petition calling for a public referendum based on the “number of voters.”
The meanin …
![Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven cases Dec. 14 and 15](https://iowaappeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/New-Flag-002-1080x675.jpg)
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven cases Dec. 14 and 15
The Iowa Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in seven cases Dec. 14 and 15. Five other cases will be submitted to the court this week without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs in these cases.
Following are summa …
![Appeal filed in federal constitutional challenge to Iowa gender-balance law for State Judicial Nominating Commission](https://iowaappeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/StLouis-Courthouse-Outside640by300.jpg)
Appeal filed in federal constitutional challenge to Iowa gender-balance law for State Judicial Nominating Commission
Two Iowans who are seeking to enjoin enforcement of an Iowa statute requiring gender balance on the State Judicial Nominating Commission are taking their challenge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Rachel Raak Law of Correctionville and Micah Broekemeier of Iowa City read more
![Iowa Supreme Court reaffirms its precedent on reciting rights to drunk driving suspects](https://iowaappeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/pexels-pixabay-532001-2-1080x675.jpg)
Iowa Supreme Court reaffirms its precedent on reciting rights to drunk driving suspects
How far must a police officer go to assure that a suspected drunk driver understands the legal consequences of agreeing or refusing to take a breath test when the suspect does not speak English?
That is the question posed in an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court by Fethe Feshay Baraki, who claims he did not knowingly conse …
![Divided Iowa Supreme Court affirms trial court on license plate obscured by trailer hitch ball](https://iowaappeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AdobeStock_358870387-1080x675.jpeg)
Divided Iowa Supreme Court affirms trial court on license plate obscured by trailer hitch ball
A Polk County District judge denied a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence from a traffic stop initiated by a police officer who could not make out one letter on the vehicle’s license plate because it was partially blocked by a trailer hitch ball.
FEATURED POSTS
Municipal water utility not protected from strict liability for main breaks, Iowa Supreme Court rules
A municipal water utility is not shielded by the Iowa Tort Claims Act from strict liability for damage to a Council Bluffs couples’ home caused by water main breaks, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down May 19.
Jim and …
With sex-affirming surgery case declared moot by Iowa Supreme Court, resolution of constitutional questions awaits a future case
A case with a long procedural history in administrative and constitutional law that might have resolved the question of Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming surgery ended quietly May 12 when the Iowa Supreme Court declared the case moot. T …
Iowa Supreme Court holds Black defendant not harmed by juror strike, but three justices object to a race-related reference in juror questioning
A prosecutor did not discriminate against a Black criminal defendant by striking a Black member of the jury pool, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down April 21, but three members of the Court in a separate opinion expressed …
Iowa Supreme Court unanimously overturns 2017 Godfrey precedent establishing direct damages claims under Iowa Constitution
In an opinion filed May 5, 2023 in Burnett v. Smith and State of Iowa the Iowa Supreme Court overruled its 2017 opinion in Godfrey v. State, which recognized a private right of action for damages against State officials f …
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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.