UPDATES & ANALYSIS
Fired Catholic school principal won’t get new trial, Iowa Supreme Court rules
A former principal of St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Des Moines will not get a new trial in her unsuccessful civil action against the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, St. Joseph’s Church, and the pastor who supervised her, for fraud and defamation by all defendants, and breach of contract against the pastor, Father Jose …
Iowa Supreme Court allows open records suit to proceed, saying the Governor is not immune from such litigation
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the Polk County District Court’s denial of a motion to dismiss a suit brought by journalists claiming Gov. Kim Reynolds and other staffers within her office violated the Iowa Open Records Act. In reaching that decision, the Court held the plaintiffs’ claims against the Governor did not vi …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in three cases April 11, including on enforcement of Iowa’s fetal-heartbeat abortion law
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in three cases April 11. A fourth case will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are summaries of the cases. [Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in these cases.]
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Oral argument on the right to a jury will be heard by Iowa Supreme Court in session in Perry April 4
In July 2020 the Iowa Attorney General filed a civil suit alleging a now-defunct Omaha company violated Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act in marketing stem-cell and exosome therapy treatments using false, misleading, and deceptive tactics.
When the case went to trial in Polk County District Court, the defendant, Travis Autor, …
Iowa Supreme Court sends case on “protectionist” legislation back to trial court with pointed language about legislative logrolling
The Iowa Constitution requires that bills enacted by the General Assembly contain a single subject in the title. Although legislators often use vaguely general titles on bills that contain many unrelated provisions, the Iowa Supreme Court has been reluctant to declare the practice unconstitutional: In the 166 years since th …
FEATURED POSTS
Iowa Supreme Court’s 2023-24 term begins with oral arguments Sep. 13-14
The Iowa Supreme Court is set to begin its 2023-24 term with oral arguments Sept. 13 and 14 in Des Moines. The justices will travel to the Waverly-Shellrock High School for an evening oral argument on Sept. 19 and to the University of Iowa Law School on Sept. 29. The Court will also go on the road in October, February, and …
A statistical review of the 2022-2023 Iowa Supreme Court term
[This article by Matthew A. McGuire, Spencer S. Cady, and Chris E. Slack was originally published in the August 2023 issue of The Iowa Lawyer magazine.]
In our analysis of the 2020- …
U.S. Supreme Court on California’s Proposition 12: Banning imports of pork from ‘cruel’ treatment not unconstitutional – at least for now
Most every state was affected one way or another by decisions handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in its recently ended term. A decision upholding California’s restriction on the sale of certain pork products in the state of California, however, may have an outsize impact on Iowa, which is the No. 1 pork producer and ex …
Iowa Supreme Court rules that Iowa Utilities Board must consider alternatives to a public utility’s plan for managing emissions
In an opinion filed on April 28, 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court in Environmental Law and Policy Center v. Iowa Utilities Board ruled under Iowa Code section 476.6 the Iowa Utilities Board erred in not considering certain intervenors’ evidence when approving MidAmerican Energy’s required biennial plan and budget 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.