Justice Streit, you disappoint me

The Iowa Supreme Court released four new opinions today. One deals with expansion of nonconforming uses under a City Ordinance, one with the admission of prior bad acts in a sexual abuse trial and two (1, 2) with tax sale/redemption procedures.

I have to say, I always look forward to Justice Streit’s opinions because they, from my experience, usually contain some reference to pop culture or rock music. I was disappointed today when I read the opinion he authored because there were no such references. so much for making the law fun.

A funny story about Justice Streit:

During the swearing-in ceremony through which I became a member of the Iowa Bar, one of the people being sworn in had the last name Streit. I don’t remember exactly when it happened or who said it, but someone made the comment, as a part of the ceremony, that Justice Streit’s daughter was being sworn in. Justice Streit called out from the audience, “Actually, she’s my wife.” High comedy and a red-faced person at the microphone.

For the last time, assault is a specific intent crime…

So, the Iowa Supreme Court yet again “clarified” that assault is, in fact, a specific intent crime in Iowa. Despite a number of recent cases on the issue, the seemingly exasperated Justices released an opinion today that again ruled that assault, this time in the context of dependent adult abuse, requires that the assaulting party intend to offend the party being assaulted. Congrats to corridor attorneys Vernon Squires and Nikki Johnson at Bradley & Riley for prevailing in that case.

The court also released an opinion today reversing a District Court decision holding that it did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the custody, care and support of two children  who had been adopted by one woman without terminating the parental rights of the biological mother (the adopted parent’s partner). The Court basically told the District Court it doesn’t matter if the adoption was contrary to Iowa law. It happened…and that’s final. The District Courts in Iowa apparently have subject matter jurisdiction over anything, according to my reading of the opinion.

State of the Judiciary and Court of Appeals

Chief Justice Ternus gave her State of the Judiciary Speech to the state legislature today. The full text and a summary of her speech are available here. She proposed changes to the Juvenile Court system and announced additions to the State’s drug court system. Both noble causes, in my opinion.

She also announced that the Supreme Court has chosen to scale back the idea of full public access to court records. The original thought, with the initiation of online filing in the state court system, was that all documents would be readily available to the public. Now, people have to go to the Clerk’s office to look through a file. Justice Ternus now says that the Supreme Court has decided that such a level of availability will have a chilling effect on the use of the courts because people don’t want they’re court documents out for everyone to see. Instead, full access to documents will be available on public kiosks at the Clerks’ offices and to select users (attorneys, litigants, etc.).

If there is already full access to Court records at the Clerks’ offices, why add additional computer systems to the mix? That doesn’t make sense to me.

Also, new Court of Appeals opinions today. You can find them here.

Birthdays

For some reason, my birthday often ends up being a busy, difficult day. A few years ago, when I was still in law school, I got sick on my birthday. I don’t get really sick very often, but that time I did. And my wife had to be out of town for the evening, so I was home alone, having to take care of the dog in between trips to the bathroom.

Today is a big birthday for me. I am turning an age that ends in zero. Most of you who know me can probably figure out which one it is. It has not been an easy day. I got an order I was hoping would never come. I had to deal with discovery for a good portion of the day. And I had to deal with things that I haven’t been organized enough to get done prior to the due date. And it’s Monday. Happy Birthday to me.

New Supreme Court Opinions

This seems to be all I blog about anymore. I’ll have to change that.

Two new opinons today. One upholding the payment of meterial witness fees of $40 per day to a person who was held in jail as a material witness for 53 days. He argued that he should have gotten the equivalent of minimum wage each day. The Court declined to go there.

The other was another challenge to the prohibition against sex offenders living within 2000 feet of daycares and preschools. The Defendant argued that his moving from his old residence to his new (which was within 2000 feet of something) was allowed under the grandfather clause of the statute. The Court decided that the grandfather clause only allowed those living within the 2000 foot radius to continue living in the same place. It does not allow them to move from one place to the next. I don’t exactly understand the Attorney General’s take on this. Perhaps it was the C0unty Attorneys, I guess, but they agreed with the Defendant that the statute was vague. The Court decided it’s not.

Anyway, more fun to come, I’m sure.

New Supreme Court Opinions

The Iowa Supreme Court today released two new opinions. One is interesing for the fact that it reiterates that attorneys who contract with the State Public Defender’s Office must file their fee claims within 45 days of the final disposition of each case. This is set out pretty clearly in state code, but I think this is the second case I’ve read this yer concerning this issue.

The second opinion deals with whether the same two felony charges can be used to bump a possession charge to a class D felony and be used to find that someone is an habitual offender for purposes of sentencing. They can.

Fun stuff. Happy New Year!