The Iowa Supreme Court issued two opinions from May 15-21. As of May 21, the court issued 56 opinions in 2023 — five fewer than this point a year ago. Both of the opinions are below:
Sutton v. Council Bluffs Water Works, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court denying the motion filed by the Council Bluffs Water Works’ to dismiss the claim brought by Jim and Angela Sutton for strict liability, holding that the district court did not err in failing to dismiss Suttons’ strict liability claim.”
Venckus v. City of Iowa City, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to a police detective and his city employer in this case alleging defamation, abuse of process, and malicious prosecution, holding that there was no error.”
From May 15-21, state supreme courts issued 186 opinions nationally. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued the most with 21. State supreme courts in 15 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 121 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 65.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. The court issued 110 opinions in 2022 and 112 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,660 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,511 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 1,149. Iowa is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued four opinions from May 8-14. As of May 14, the court issued 54 opinions in 2023 — four fewer than this point a year ago. Three of four opinions are below:
Barnes v. CDM Rentals, LLC, where the court “affirmed the summary judgment of the district court concluding that a condominium owner-landlord owed no duty of care with respect to a downspout that discharged water directly onto a shared driveway, holding that the owner-landlord had no common law, contractual, or statutory duty to keep the driveway clear.”
Vasquez v. Iowa Dep’t of Human Services, where the court “dismissed this direct appeal brought by the Iowa Department of Human Services (HDS) from a district court ruling requiring Iowa’s Medicaid program to pay for sex reassignment surgery for two transgender adults and affirmed the denial of fees on cross-appeal, holding that the appeal was moot.”
White v. Harkrider, where the court “affirmed in part and reversed in part … on interlocutory appeal and cross-appeal of a ruling on a motion to dismiss the state constitutional tort and common law claims arising out of a warrantless arrest of Plaintiff’s spouse … holding that the district court erred in denying Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and trespass.”
From May 8-14, state supreme courts issued 110 opinions nationally. The North Dakota Supreme Court issued the most with 12. State supreme courts in 20 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 68 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 42.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. The court issued 110 opinions in 2022 and 112 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,474 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,390 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 1,084. Iowa is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued three opinions from May 1-7. As of May 7, the court issued 50 opinions in 2023 — six fewer than this point a year ago. The three opinions are below:
Burnett v. Smith, where the court “affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff’s various legal theories of direct damages liability under the Iowa Constitution, holding that Godfrey v. State, 898 N.W.2d 844 (Iowa 2017), is hereby overruled.”
Story County Wind, LLC v. Story County Bd. of Review, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that ‘repowering’ a wind plant, or replacing a substantial proportion of its parts, does not change the analysis for valuing wind plants for property tax purposes under Iowa Code 427B.26, holding that the district court did not err.”
Wallace v. Wildensee, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court denying a request for a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), holding that without a divorce or separate maintenance proceeding under Iowa Code chapter 598 Iowa district courts cannot enter QDROs for the sole purpose of transferring a plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).”
From May 1-7, state supreme courts issued 156 opinions nationally. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued the most with 22. State supreme courts in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 91 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 65.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. The court issued 110 opinions in 2022 and 112 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,357 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,315 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 1,042. Iowa is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
As of May 7, Ballotpedia has tracked six election-related bills in the Iowa State Senate since the beginning of the year. Of the six, Ballotpedia tracked two from May 1-7. Republicans sponsored one bill, while the other did not list sponsors. The two bills are below:
IA SSB1035: A bill for an act relating to the conduct of election recounts, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions, no sponsors listed.
As introduced, this bill:
Outlines procedures for implementing a recount requested by a candidate and increases the number of designees from one to two for counties with larger populations, and the number of precinct election officials from one to three for larger counties.
Strikes the provision allowing election officials to meet to canvass the vote on a Monday, thereby allowing the canvass meeting to be only on Tuesday.
Modifies the deadline for filing a request for a recount from the third day following the canvass to the second day following the canvass, and stipulates that the recount will be conducted in all specified election precincts.
Outlines required content for a written recount request.
Outlines procedures for when a recount request is received, including verification of a request for a hand recount and associated penalties, timelines, and notification requirements.
Click the hyperlinked bill number above for more information.
IA SF23: A bill for an act requiring primary elections for the nomination of candidates for city, school district, and merged area elections, and including applicability provisions, Sen. Brad Zaun (R).
As introduced, this bill:
Requires partisan primary elections to be held to nominate candidates for city, school district, and merged area elections.
Adds stipulations regarding school district candidates to existing law about nomination objections.
Applies laws governing certain city primaries to all city and school district primaries.
Establishes ballot access requirements for school district candidates. Candidates must file nomination papers with the secretary of the school board at least 40 days before the primary. To be included on the ballot, candidates for at-large seats must submit petitions with the signatures of at least 25 eligible voters, while candidates for director district seats must submit petitions with the signatures of at least 10 eligible voters.
Applies laws governing ballot vacancies to all city and school district elections.
Click the hyperlinked bill number above for more information.
During the week of May 1-7, Ballotpedia tracked 14 Senate election-related bills nationally. As of May 7, Ballotpedia has tracked 945 Senate bills nationally. Ballotpedia tracked the most Senate bills this year in the New York State Senate with 140, while Ballotpedia tracked the fewest Senate bills in the Massachusetts State Senate with zero.
As of May 7, Ballotpedia has tracked 438 Senate bills in Democratic trifectas and 389 Senate bills in Republican trifectas. A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Ballotpedia has tracked 118 Senate bills in states where neither party holds trifecta control.
The Iowa Senate was scheduled to be in session from Jan. 9 to April 28 this year. In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked nine Senate bills related to election administration. Two of these bills passed both chambers and both were enacted into law. Iowa is a Republican trifecta.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued three opinions from April 24-30. As of April 30, the court issued 47 opinions in 2023 — three fewer than this point a year ago. The three opinions are below:
Environmental Law & Policy Center v. Iowa Utilities Bd., where the court “reversed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant’s petition for judicial review of an order of the Iowa Utilities Board…holding that the Board erred in failing to consider certain intervenors’ evidence in determining whether the ‘Emissions Plan and Budget’ (EPB) met the statutory requirements.”
In re Medical Assistance Pooled Special Needs Trust Of Scott Hewitt, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court” and dismissed the “action brought by the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) claiming it was entitled to a detailed accounting, holding that the trustee provided an adequate accounting.”
In re Medical Assistance Pooled Special Needs Trust of Steven Muller, where the court “reversed the judgment of the district court…holding that the Center provided an adequate accounting, and therefore, the district court lacked authority to grant the relief it provided to remedy the Center’s alleged failure to account for the retained funds.”
From April 24-30, state supreme courts issued 172 opinions nationally. The West Virginia Supreme Court issued the most with 36. State supreme courts in 14 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 109 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 63.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. The court issued 110 opinions in 2022 and 112 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,201 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,224 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 977. Iowa is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued four opinions from April 17-23. As of April 23, the court issued 44 opinions in 2023 — four fewer than this point a year ago. Three of the four opinions are below:
State v. Booker, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of sexual abuse in the third degree, holding that Defendant was not entitled to reversal of his convictions on his allegations of error.”
State v. Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, where the court “vacated Defendant’s sentence and remanded this case for resentencing…holding that the district court’s fine-only sentence was illegal.”
Pitz v. U.S. Cellular Operating Co. of Dubuque, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court and the court of appeals in favor of a cell phone service company and dismissing this action brought by property owners, holding that there was no error.”
From April 17-23, state supreme courts issued 143 opinions nationally. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued the most with 20. State supreme courts in 15 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 83 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 60.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. The court issued 110 opinions in 2022 and 112 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,027 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,113 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 914. Iowa is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
As of April 16, Ballotpedia has tracked four election-related bills in the Iowa House of Representatives since the beginning of the year. Of the four, Ballotpedia tracked one from April 10-16. No sponsors are named for this bill. The one bill is below:
IA HSB183: A bill for an act allowing for the use of ranked choice voting in city elections, and including effective date and applicability provisions, no sponsors are named for this bill.
As introduced, this bill establishes that rank choice voting may be used in city elections.
During the week of April 10-16, Ballotpedia tracked 12 House election-related bills nationally. As of April 16, Ballotpedia has tracked 1,364 House bills nationally. Ballotpedia tracked the most House bills this year in the Texas House of Representatives with 183, while Ballotpedia tracked the fewest House bills in the Massachusetts House of Representatives with zero.
As of April 16, Ballotpedia has tracked 611 House bills in Democratic trifectas and 596 House bills in Republican trifectas. A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Ballotpedia has tracked 157 House bills in states where neither party holds trifecta control.
The Iowa House is scheduled to be in session from Jan. 9 to April 28 this year. In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked five House bills related to election administration. Zero of these bills passed both chambers. Iowa is a Republican trifecta.
The Iowa State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the 2024 ballot that would create a system of succession in the case of temporary or permanent disability of the governor. The amendment would provide that if the governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor would assume the office of governor for the remainder of the term, thereby creating a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor. Under the amendment, if the lieutenant governor assumed the office of governor, they would have the authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor.
Currently, in Iowa, if the governor leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes responsible for fulfilling the duties and assumes the powers of the governor, but does not have the authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor.
Adam Gregg (R) was appointed lieutenant governor of Iowa by Gov. Kim Reynolds on May 25, 2017. Reynolds, the previous lieutenant governor, had recently become Governor following the resignation of Terry Branstad to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China.
Before Reynolds was sworn in, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller (D) issued a legal opinion stating that Reynolds would not have the ability to appoint her own lieutenant governor. In a press conference announcing the decision, Miller said, “There’s a clear historic practice that there is no replacement of a lieutenant governor or vice president absent a constitutional provision.” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (R) disagreed, saying in a statement, “There is sufficient legal authority for Governor Reynolds to fill the vacancy of lieutenant governor.”
Upon Gregg’s appointment, a Des Moines Register report citing Reynolds’ Deputy Chief of Staff Tim Albrecht said Gregg was appointed in such a way that he will “‘operate’ the office of lieutenant governor, but not actually ‘hold’ that office.” Although Gregg held the title and carried out the responsibilities of the office, he took office while remaining outside of the gubernatorial line of succession. This meant that if Reynolds became unable to carry out the office of governor, the new governor would be the President of the Iowa Senate, who at the time was Jack Whitver (R).
The constitutional amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 2005 on Feb. 10, 2022. It was passed in the House on Feb. 23, 2022, in a vote of 63-34. It was passed in the Senate on March 22, 2022, in a vote of 46-3. The amendment was sent to the Iowa secretary of state and thereby referred to the 2023-2024 session of the state legislature. The constitutional amendment was introduced during the 2023 legislative session as House Joint Resolution 3 on Jan. 26, 2023. It was passed in the House on Feb. 1, 2023, in a vote of 81-18. It was passed in the Senate on April 19, 2023, in a vote of 50-0.
The state legislature first passed a constitutional amendment addressing the gubernatorial line of succession during the 2018 legislative session, which would have gone before the legislature during the 2019-2020 legislature session to appear on the 2020 ballot. However, due to an error made by the secretary of state’s office, the 2018 vote did not count toward referring the amendment to the ballot and the process had to be restarted.
Voters in Indiana will also vote on a constitutional amendment related to the gubernatorial line of succession in 2024. Under the proposal, the superintendent of public instruction would be removed from the gubernatorial line of succession since the elected position of state superintendent of public instruction was abolished in 2021 and replaced by the secretary of education, a position appointed by the governor.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued five opinions from April 10-16. As of April 16, the court issued 40 opinions in 2023 — one fewer than this point a year ago. Three of five opinions are below:
Belin v. Reynolds, where the court “affirmed as modified the judgment of the district court denying Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims of open records violations, holding that Iowa’s Open Records Act, Iowa Code chapter 22, may permit Plaintiffs to pursue claims based on untimeliness and that the district court did not err in granting Defendants’ motion to dismiss.”
Konchar v. Pins, where the court “affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants as to some of Plaintiff’s claims and the judgment entered on the defense verdicts on Plaintiff’s remaining defamation claims, holding that Plaintiff had not shown grounds for reversal.”
Anderson v. Iowa District Court, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant’s motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that the district court did not err in denying Appellant’s motion.”
From April 10-16, state supreme courts issued 91 opinions nationally. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the North Dakota Supreme Court issued the most with nine. State supreme courts in 26 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 48 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 43.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. The court issued 110 opinions in 2022 and 112 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 1,883 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,029 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 854. Iowa is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued five opinions from April 3-9. As of April 9, the court issued 35 opinions in 2023 — three fewer than this point a year ago. Three of five opinions are below:
Des Moines Civil & Human Rights Comm’n v. Knueven, where the court “reversed the judgment of the district court concluding that Defendants discriminated against prospective tenants in violation of municipal law by steering prospective tenants of a protected religion or national origin away from their rental properties, holding that there was insufficient evidence against Defendants under the proper jury instruction.”
Auditor of State v. Sand, where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court denying the state auditor’s application to enforce a subpoena against the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP), holding that ICAP is not a governmental subdivision over which the state auditor has statutory authority.”
Blasdell v. Linnhaven, Inc., where the court “affirmed the judgment of the district court reversing the decision of the workers’ compensation commissioner denying the claim filed by the husband of a deceased employee for burial expenses and death benefits as the surviving spouse, holding that the district court did not err.”
From April 3-9, state supreme courts issued 144 opinions nationally. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued the most with 26. State supreme courts in 19 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 69 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 75.
The Iowa Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Susan Christensen. The court issued 110 opinions in 2022 and 112 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 1,787 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 976 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 811. Iowa is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
