An Iowa organization that advocates on behalf of Hispanic Iowans did not have legal standing to bring suit seeking to dissolve a 13-year-old injunction that barred the Secretary of State from disseminating voter registration materials in languages other than English,
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Iowa Supreme Court rejects bid to abolish exception to Fourth Amendment warrant requirement
By Rox Laird
A law enforcement officer making a roadside stop is legally allowed to search a vehicle without a warrant under an “automobile exception” to the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures granted by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and…
Iowa Supreme Court: Union Pacific Railroad not liable for worker’s suicide
By Rox Laird
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. is not liable under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) for the death of an employee who took his own life from emotional distress caused by his supervisor’ harassment, the Iowa Supreme Court held in…
Iowa Supreme Court removes judicial magistrate from bench for racially derogatory and ‘demeaning and sophomoric’ statements
By Rox Laird
The Iowa Supreme Court removed a part-time judicial magistrate from the bench in a unanimous decision issued April 18 for violations of the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct in making a racially derogatory statement in an open court proceeding and…
Iowa Supreme Court revives suit against Polk County over rezoning decision on Family Leader project
By Rox Laird
Five individual plaintiffs living near a non-profit group’s proposed office and event center have standing to pursue claims alleging they would be injured by development in what is now an area zoned for agricultural use. The Iowa Supreme Court reached…
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in seven cases April 15 and 16
By Rox Laird
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in seven cases April 15 and 16. Two other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the April cases with the exception of one attorney…
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in a defamation case April 3 at Drake Law School
By Rox Laird
Did a video recording of a school board meeting posted by the board on its YouTube channel defame a former tennis coach who alleges she was slandered by statements made during the public meeting?
That question will be before the…
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in eight cases March 26 and 27
By Rox Laird
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases March 26 and 27. Two cases will be submitted to the Court without oral arguments. Following are summaries of the March arguments. Go to OnBrief’s Cases in the Pipeline page…
Statute penalizing assisted-reproduction fraud does not apply retroactively, Iowa Supreme Court holds
By Rox Laird
A state statute enacted in 2022 that created civil and criminal penalties for fertility doctors who fraudulently use their own sperm to help infertile couples conceive children through artificial insemination does not apply retroactively, the Iowa Supreme Court held in…
Iowa Supreme Court issues split rulings on firearms rights
By Rox Laird
The Iowa Supreme Court handed down two rulings Feb. 21 addressing firearms rights under state and federal law. The court reached different conclusions in the two cases, restoring an individual’s firearms rights in one case while affirming the removal of…