View source for Iowa Supreme Court

{{Short description|Highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox high court
|court_name = Iowa Supreme Court
|image = Iowa Supreme Court.jpg
|imagesize = 250px
|caption = Iowa Judicial Branch Building
|established = 1846
|jurisdiction = [[Iowa]] {{flagicon|Iowa}}, [[United States]] {{flagicon|USA}}
|location= [[Des Moines, Iowa]]
|coordinates= 
|type = [[Missouri Plan]]
|authority = [[Iowa Constitution]]
|appealsto = [[Supreme Court of the United States]]
|terms = 8 years
|positions = 7
|website = [http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/ Official website]
|chiefjudgetitle = Chief Justice
|chiefjudgename = [[Susan Christensen]]
|termstart = February 24, 2020
|termend = 
|termend2 = 
}}

The '''Iowa Supreme Court''' is the [[state supreme court|highest court]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Iowa]]. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices.

The Court holds its regular sessions in [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]] in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 East Court Avenue on the state Capitol grounds, south of the [[Iowa State Capitol]].

==History==
In 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to join the [[United States]]. Following the constitution of the Federal government, the powers of the government in Iowa were divided into the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. The [[Iowa General Assembly]] divided the state into four judicial districts, and Supreme Court justices were to serve six year terms, while district judges were elected for five year terms. The [[Constitution of Iowa]] of 1857 increased the number of judicial districts to 11, and allowed the General Assembly to reorganize districts after 1860 and every four years thereafter.<ref>[http://www.iowacourts.gov/Public_Information/Iowa_Courts_History/Early_History/ Iowa Supreme Court: History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528122502/http://www.iowacourts.gov/Public_Information/Iowa_Courts_History/Early_History/ |date=2010-05-28 }}</ref>

==Functions==
The Supreme Court of Iowa is an [[appellate court]]. An appellate court reviews decisions of trial courts in which appeals have been allowed.  An appellate court does not preside over trials. Appellate court hearings do not involve witnesses, juries, new evidence, or court reporters. Instead, an appellate court reviews the written record of the trial court to determine whether any significant legal errors occurred

The seven-member Supreme Court of Iowa has many important responsibilities.<ref>[http://www.iowacourts.gov/Supreme_Court/ National Center for State Courts. Iowa Judicial Branch.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617051409/http://www.iowacourts.gov/Supreme_Court/ |date=2009-06-17 }}</ref>
* The Court is the "court of last resort" or the highest court in the Iowa state court system. Its opinions are binding on all other Iowa state courts.
* The Iowa Supreme Court has the sole power to admit persons to practice as attorneys in the courts of Iowa, to prescribe rules to supervise attorney conduct, and to discipline attorneys.
* The Court is responsible for promulgating rules of procedure and practice used throughout the state courts.
* The Supreme Court has supervisory and administrative control over the judicial branch and over all judicial officers and court employees.

==Justices==
{{main|List of justices of the Iowa Supreme Court}}

Justices are appointed by the [[Governor of Iowa|governor]] from a list of nominees submitted by the [[Missouri Plan|State Judicial Nominating Commission]]. A justice serves an initial term consisting of one year plus whatever time remains until the January 1st following the next judicial [[retention election]] after the expiration of the one year period.<ref name="Schulte">{{cite news|last=Schulte|first=Grant|title=High court's four justices get back to hearing cases|newspaper=[[The Des Moines Register]]|date=January 14, 2011|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110114/NEWS/101140351|access-date=January 15, 2011}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="ouster">{{cite news |last=Sulzberger |first=A. G. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/us/politics/04judges.html |title=Ouster of Iowa Judges Sends Signal to Bench |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 3, 2010 |access-date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> The regular term of office of justices retained at election is eight years. A justice must retire upon reaching the age of 72. The justices elect the chief justice. Terms end on December 31 of the year listed.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Name
!Born
!Start
!Term ends
!Mandatory retirement
!Appointer
!Law school
|-
|{{sortname|Susan|Christensen}}, ''Chief Justice''
|{{birth date and age|1962|4|27}}
|{{dts|2018|9|21}}{{efn|Became Chief Justice on February 24, 2020.}} 
|2028
|{{dts|2034|4|27}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{sortname|Kim|Reynolds}} (R)
|[[Creighton University School of Law|Creighton]]
|-
|{{sortname|Edward|Mansfield|dab=judge}}
|{{birth date and age|1957|1|12}}
|{{dts|2011|2|23}}
|2028
|{{dts|2029|1|12}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{sortname|Terry|Branstad}} (R)
|[[Yale Law School|Yale]]
|-
|{{sortname|Thomas D.|Waterman}}
|{{birth year and age|1959}}
|{{dts|2011|2|23}}
|2028
|2031
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{sortname|Terry|Branstad}} (R)
|[[University of Iowa College of Law|Iowa]]
|-
|{{sortname|Christopher|McDonald|dab=jurist}}
|{{birth date and age|1974|9|17}}
|{{dts|2019|2|20}}
|2028
|{{dts|2046|9|17}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{sortname|Kim|Reynolds}} (R)
|[[University of Iowa College of Law|Iowa]]
|-
|{{sortname|Dana|Oxley}}
|{{birth date and age|1967|12|27}}
|{{dts|2020|1|29}}
|2030
|{{dts|2039|12|27}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{sortname|Kim|Reynolds}} (R)
|[[University of Iowa College of Law|Iowa]]
|-
|{{sortname|Matthew|McDermott}}
|{{birth date and age|1977|11|22}}
|{{dts|2020|4|3}}
|2030
|{{dts|2049|11|22}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{sortname|Kim|Reynolds}} (R)
|[[UC Berkeley School of Law|UC Berkeley]]
|-
|{{sortname|David N.|May}}
|{{birth date and age|1971|5|23}}
|{{dts|2022|7|27}}
|2032
|{{dts|2043|5|23}}
|{{Party shading/Republican}} |{{sortname|Kim|Reynolds}} (R)
|[[Drake University Law School|Drake]]
|}

{{notelist}}

==Notable decisions==
{{incomplete list|date=January 2015}}

=== ''In re Ralph, a colored man'' ===
''In re Ralph, a colored man'',<ref>In re Ralph, 1 Morris 1 (1839)</ref> July 4, 1839 was the first reported decision in the Supreme Court of the Territory of Iowa, a federal court with jurisdiction similar to that the Iowa Supreme Court would eventually hold when Iowa achieved statehood. It was decided twenty six years before the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|13th Amendment]], eighteen years before [[Dred Scott v. Sandford|''Dred Scott'']], and seven years before Iowa was granted statehood. A black man from Missouri, Ralph, was allowed to travel to Iowa to work, in an attempt to purchase his freedom. When Ralph could not obtain the amount needed, the slave owner sent bounty hunters to return Ralph to Missouri. The opinion denied the slave owner while giving Ralph his freedom, expounding that the law "extend[s] equal protection to men of all colors and conditions".<ref>In re Ralph, 1 Morris 1, 7 (1839)</ref>

===''[[Clark v. Board of School Directors|Clark v. The Board of Directors]]''===
In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court decided ''[[Clark v. Board of School Directors]]'',<ref>24 Iowa 266 (1868)</ref> ruling that racially segregated "[[separate but equal]]" schools had no place in Iowa, 86 years before the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] reached the same decision.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Longden |first1=Tom |title=Alexander G. Clark |url=http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/alexander-g-clark |website=Data Central |publisher=Des Moines Register |access-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150203064233/http://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/alexander-g-clark |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Arabella Mansfield===
In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law, with the Court ruling that women may not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa and admitting [[Arabella Mansfield]] to the practice of law.<ref name="civil rights">{{cite web |title=Civil Rights |url=https://www.iowacourts.gov/for-the-public/iowa-courts-history/civil-rights |website=Iowa Judicial Branch |access-date=February 28, 2020 |archive-date=January 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113040442/https://www.iowacourts.gov/for-the-public/iowa-courts-history/civil-rights |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===''Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co.''===
The Court heard ''Coger v. The North Western Union Packet Co.''<ref>37 Iowa 145 (1873)</ref> in 1873, ruling against [[racial discrimination]] in public accommodations 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.<ref name="civil rights"/>

===''[[Varnum v. Brien]]''===
On April 3, 2009, in ''[[Varnum v. Brien]]'',<ref>763 [[N.W.2d]] 862 (Iowa 2009);WL 874044 (Iowa 2009) <!-- Please update this citation when the opinion is published to N.W.2d --></ref> the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously struck down a statutory [[same-sex marriage]] ban as unconstitutional, joining the highest judicial bodies of [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court|Massachusetts]], [[Connecticut Supreme Court|Connecticut]], [[Supreme Court of California|California]], and [[Hawaii State Supreme Court|Hawaii]] as the fifth court to rule for the right of same-sex marriage under the state constitution.<ref>{{cite news|last2=Schulte |first2=Grant |last1=Eckhoff |first1=Jeff |title=Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman |newspaper=The Des Moines Register |date=April 3, 2009 |url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090403/NEWS/90403010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629165642/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090403/NEWS/90403010 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 29, 2012 |access-date=January 14, 2011 }}</ref> At the next judicial retention election in 2010, voters removed all three justices facing a retention vote.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|author=A.G. Sulzberger|title=Ouster of Iowa Judges Sends Signal to Bench|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/us/politics/04judges.html?_r=0|access-date=11 October 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=3 November 2010|page=A1|author1-link=A. G. Sulzberger}}</ref> It was the first time any Iowa Supreme Court justice had been removed by voters.<ref name=nyt/> Chief Justice [[Marsha Ternus]], Justice [[Michael Streit]], and Justice [[David L. Baker]] each received support from 45% or less of voters.<ref name=nyt/>

=== ''Nelson v. Knight'' ===
Marissa Nelson, a dental assistant, filed suit against her former employer Dr. James Knight, who terminated her employment at the insistence of his wife. Nelson had previously been texting Knight about personal matters outside work. On December 21, 2012, the court issued a 7-0 decision siding with Knight. The opinion, authored by [[Edward Mansfield (judge)|Edward Mansfield]], held that the termination of Nelson's employment did not constitute unlawful sex discrimination.<ref>Nelson v. Knight, No. 11-1857 (Iowa Dec. 21, 2012).</ref><ref name="ABA">{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/publications/blt/2013/06/keeping_current/|title=KEEPING CURRENT: Nelson v. Knight: Can a Worker Be Fired for Being Too Irresistible?|last1=Bible|first1=Jon|date=30 June 2013|work=Business Law Today|access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref>

=== ''Planned Parenthood v. Reynolds'' (2018) ===
The Court heard arguments in a lawsuit brought against the state of Iowa and the Iowa Board of Medicine by [[Planned Parenthood]] and Dr. Jill Meadows regarding a 72-hour [[waiting period]] to receive an abortion enacted by the state legislature and signed into law by [[Terry Branstad|Governor Terry Branstad]] in 2017. The Court decided in a 5-2 majority opinion, authored by [[Mark Cady|Chief Justice Mark Cady]], that the waiting period violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the [[Iowa Constitution]] because its restrictions "are not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest of the state." Justice Cady argued that the state can inform women about abortion, including providing information about adoption, but that a 72-hour waiting period does not serve this interest sufficiently narrowly and imposes an undue burden on Iowan women.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2018/06/29/abortion-iowa-supreme-court-planned-parenthood-72-hour-waiting-period-american-civil-liberties-union/745068002/|title=Iowa Supreme Court rejects law requiring a 72 hour abortion waiting period|last1=Leys|first1=Tony|date=29 June 2018|work=Des Moines Register|access-date=29 June 2018|last2=Gruber-Miller|first2=Stephen}}</ref>

=== ''Planned Parenthood v. Reynolds'' (2022) ===
In June 2022, the Court, in a 5–2 vote, found that the Iowa Constitution did not protect a right to an abortion, overruling its 2018 decision. The Court upheld a law establishing a 24-hour waiting period.<ref>{{cite web | title=Iowa Supreme Court rules abortion is not protected by state constitution | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iowa-abortion-not-protected-state-constitution-court-ruling/#app | date=June 17, 2022 | work=[[CBS News]] | access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Pitt | first1=David | title=Iowa Supreme Court: Abortion not fundamental right in state | url=https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-iowa-supreme-court-government-and-politics-0074e14defa4a6699e65d921f0edbc58 | date=June 17, 2022 | work=[[Associated Press]] | access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Akin | first1=Katie | last2=Morris | first2=Willian | title=Iowa Supreme Court says fundamental right to abortion not guaranteed under state constitution | url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2022/06/17/iowa-supreme-court-abortion-law-ruling-planned-parenthood-kim-reynolds/7646049001/ | date=June 17, 2022 | work=[[The Des Moines Register]] | access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Iowa}}
* [[Courts of Iowa]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/ Iowa Supreme Court]
* [http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/Supreme_Court_Justices/ Iowa Supreme Court Justices]

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{{Iowa}}
{{US Judiciaries}}

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[[Category:Iowa state courts]]
[[Category:State supreme courts of the United States]]
[[Category:1846 establishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:Courts and tribunals established in 1846]]