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 masturbating near two women who witnessed the exposure at the same time, he should have been prosecuted and sentenced for only a single violation. The Iowa Supreme Court, in a unanimous April 19 decision written by Chief Justice Susan Christensen, disagreed. Christopher Wilson was ..read more

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. The Court’s unanimous decision in White v. Department of Human Services was written by Justice Thomas Waterman. Tracy White alleged inappropriate sexual conduct by her supervisor in her suit against the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS, which since ..read more

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. v. Gov. Kim Reynolds, et al. is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., and the Court set aside 50 minutes to hear the case. [Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed with the Court by the parties in this case and by amicus curiae.] The question before the Court is ..read more

The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases April 10 and 11. Four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in these cases. Following are brief summaries of the April arguments.   Clark v. State Scheduled for oral argument April 10, 9 a.m. Question: Is a $12 million jury award allowed for emotional damages in a legal malpractice against a defense lawyer? The State appeals a Johnson County jury verdict in favor of Donald Clark in his legal malpractice suit against a State public defende ..read more

The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in eighteen cases during February 2024. You can read Rox Laird’s analysis of Singh v. McDermott, Selden v. DMACC, and Senator Roby Smith et al. v. Iowa District Court for Polk County. The remaining opinions from February are summarized below.   State of Iowa vs. Jerome Emanuel Bailey Sr., No. 22–1440 Opinion date: February 2, 2024 On appeal from the Iowa District Court for Winnebago County Issues: Whether the district court erred in dismissing an extortion charge on the grounds that the defendant’s email fell within a statutory defense for threats ..read more

A two-judge majority of an Iowa Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Polk County District Court ruling vacating an arbitration award in a case involving financial regulation. The third member of the panel dissented, saying the majority and the trial court erred in substituting their conclusions for the reasonable conclusions of the arbitrator. The decision in Principal Securities Inc. v. Mark A. Gelbman handed down March 27 offers insight into Iowa trial and appellate courts’ authority in reviewing arbitrators’ resolution of disputes between parties that chose this alternative to the courts. In t ..read more

Is a replica of a 19th century muzzleloader rifle a “firearm” under Iowa law? No, argues a Burlington man convicted of possessing a firearm in violation of state law. That question is the heart of an appeal to be argued before the Iowa Supreme Court in a special session April 2 in Bondurant. The oral argument, which will be heard in the Bondurant-Farrar High School auditorium, 1000 Grant St. N at 7 p.m., is part of the Court’s recent practice of traveling around the state to give Iowans the opportunity to witness how the appellate process works. The justices will also hear arguments in one cas ..read more

The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in seven cases March 20 and 21. Six other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Go to On Brief’s “Cases in the Pipeline” page to read briefs filed in these cases. Following are brief summaries of the cases to be argued.   Randolph v. Aidan LLC Scheduled for oral argument March 20, 9:30 a.m. Question: A renter injured in a fall down uneven stairs sued her landlord. Can the landlord then sue the city as a third-party for negligent hiring and retention of a city inspector who observed no code violation? Plaintiffs Lori and Rona ..read more

The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in six cases during January 2024. You can read Rox Laird’s analysis of In re Detention of Schuman and Chicoine v. Wellmark, Inc. The remaining opinions from January are summarized below.   Lorri Hagen vs. Serta/National Bedding Co. LLC and Safety National Casualty Co., No. 22–0684 Opinion date: January 5, 2024 On further review from the Iowa Court of Appeals Whether the workers’ compensation commissioner abused his discretion by excluding untimely evidence from the claimant’s experts. Lorri Hagen was injured at work and sought workers’ compensatio ..read more

Iowa legislators are shielded by the Iowa Constitution from being forced to produce communications with third parties in a civil proceeding related to the passage of legislation, the Iowa Supreme Court held for the first time in a decision handed down Feb. 23. Based on that holding, the Court quashed subpoenas served by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) on 11 current or former members of the Iowa Legislature. LULAC is challenging the constitutionality of several provisions of recently enacted legislation, which LULAC argues are aimed at limiting the free speech and voting ri ..read more