Iowa Supreme Court Decisions

Seven justices serve on the Iowa Supreme Court, which is the first court to which an appeal is sent from a trial court in Iowa. The Supreme Court will decide whether to review the appeal or send the appeal to the Iowa Court of Appeals. The majority of the cases that are appealed to the Supreme Court involve criminal, family, or juvenile matters. The Court supervises lower courts in Iowa and administers the affairs of the judicial branch.

A candidate for the Supreme Court must be admitted to practice law in the state, and they also must be able to complete an eight-year term before they turn 72, which is the mandatory retirement age for judges in Iowa. The State Judicial Nominating Commission handles the initial stage of evaluating candidates, since Iowa uses a commission-selection, political appointment system of selecting justices. The Commission provides a list of candidates to the Governor, who will make the final appointment. However, once a justice has been appointed, they must go through a retention election in the first general election after they have served for one year. They will serve the full eight-year term only if they win the retention election. Otherwise, they must leave the Court at the end of the year in which the election is held. The Chief Justice is elected by the other justices of the Court, and they serve for the same term as they would if they were an ordinary justice.

In addition to being voted out in a retention election, there are two ways in which a justice may be removed from the Iowa Supreme Court. First, they may be removed if they are impeached by a majority vote of the Iowa House of Representatives and then convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Iowa Senate. A justice also may be removed if the Supreme Court determines that this is appropriate based on a recommendation by the Iowa Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Browse Opinions From the Iowa Supreme Court
Recent Decisions From the Iowa Supreme Court
Valdez v. West Des Moines Community Schools  
Date: June 30, 2023
 Docket Number: 21-1327

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that Desira Johnson, a teacher at the West Des Moines Community Schools (the District), was not subject to individual liability under the Iowa…

Uhler v. Graham Group, Inc.  
Date: June 23, 2023
 Docket Number: 21-0723

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's claim alleging she suffered permanent lung injury from toxic vapors that spread…

Carver-Kimm v. Reynolds  
Date: June 23, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-0005

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court in this wrongful discharge action, holding that the district court did not err in denying the motion to dismiss Plaintiff's…

Juckette v. Iowa Utilities Bd.  
Date: June 16, 2023
 Docket Number: 21-1788

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming the decision of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to grant MidAmerican Energy Company's petition for a franchise to build electric transmission lines…

McCoy v. Thomas L. Cardella & Associates  
Date: June 16, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-0918

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying Thomas L. Cardella & Associates' (Cardella) motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in this case alleging common law negligent supervision or…

Silas Richardson v. Gina Johnson et al.
Date: June 16, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-1727
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Inc., Emma Goldman Clinic, and Jill Meadows, v. Kim Reynolds, ex rel. State of Iowa, and Iowa Board of Medicine,
Date: June 16, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-2036
Stogdill v. City of Windsor Heights  
Date: June 9, 2023
 Docket Number: 21-1015

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' lawsuit challenging the City of Windsor Heights's attempts to collect automated traffic citation fines not…

Martin v. Tovar  
Date: June 9, 2023
 Docket Number: 21-1072

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the summary judgment granted by the district court in favor of the City of Muscatine on claims seeking to hold the City vicariously liable for a former police officer's sexual assault, holding…

Nahas v. Polk County  
Date: June 9, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-0239

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the district court denying Polk County's motion to dismiss this tort action under Iowa Code 670.4A, a new provision of the Iowa Municipal Tort Claims…

Hedlund v. State  
Date: June 9, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-0243

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court granting Larry Hedlund's motion seeking retrospective application of the amendments to Iowa's whistleblower-protection law, Iowa Code section 70A.28, holding…

Livingood v. City of Des Moines  
Date: June 9, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-0536

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court denying three plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment in this suit brought to challenge the City of Des Moines' use of the…

In re Guardianship of J.W.  
Date: May 26, 2023
 Docket Number: 21-0348

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court dismissing an attorney's pro se petition to establish an involuntary guardianship of J.W., holding that the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion under…

State ex rel., Attorney General  
Date: May 26, 2023
 Docket Number: 21-0831

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court on interlocutory appeal denying Defendants' remand for a jury in this argument over the requirement that civil enforcement actions brought by the attorney general…

In re Estate of Bisignano  
Date: May 26, 2023
 Docket Number: 22-0288

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Exile Brewing Company's attempt to intervene in the underlying probate matter and striking Exile's motion to vacate, dismiss, and close two estates…

The opinions published on Justia State Caselaw are sourced from individual state court sites. These court opinions may not be the official published versions, and you should check your local court rules before citing to them. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site, or the information linked to on the state site.
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