Des Moines, October 4, 2012 –On Tuesday and Wednesday, October 9 and 10, the Iowa Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the historic Supreme Court Courtroom in the Iowa State Capitol.
The supreme court courtroom in the Capitol was dedicated in 1886, three years after the Capitol opened. Members of the supreme court heard oral arguments and had chambers in the Capitol from 1886 to 2003 when the Judicial Branch Building opened. The Judicial Branch Building is directly south of the Capitol on Court Avenue. Members of the court of appeals heard oral arguments and had chambers in the Capitol from the time that court was organized in 1976 until 2003, when it also moved to the Judicial Branch Building.
The nine members of the Iowa Court of Appeals are: Chief Judge Larry J. Eisenhauer, Ankeny; Judge Gayle Nelson Vogel, Spirit Lake; Judge Anuradha Vaitheswaran, Des Moines; Judge Amanda Potterfield, Tiffin; Judge Richard H. Doyle, Des Moines; Judge David Danilson, Boone; Judge Mary Tabor, Des Moines; Judge Michael R. Mullins, Washington; and Judge Thomas Bower, Cedar Falls.
The Iowa Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court. It reviews appeals from trial court decisions that the supreme court has transferred to the court of appeals. A decision of the Iowa Court of Appeals is final unless reviewed by the Iowa Supreme Court on grant of further review. The majority of appeals filed in Iowa are decided by the court of appeals. Last year, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued 1,068 opinions.
As an appellate court, the Iowa Court of Appeals does not preside over trials. The court of appeals proceedings do not involve witnesses, juries, new evidence, or court reporters. Instead, the court reviews the written record of the trial court to determine whether any significant legal errors occurred.
Cases are decided by randomly selected three-judge panels that change in composition every three months. Cases are assigned for opinion writing randomly in equal numbers to each judge on the court. Each judge on the court authors about 100 opinions per year. This figure does not include dissents and special concurrences each judge might write. In addition, each judge reviews cases decided by the other panels of the court.
As always, oral arguments are open to the public.
The schedule for the Tuesday, October 9, Iowa Court of Appeals oral arguments in the Supreme Court Courtroom in the Iowa State Capitol is:
9:00 A.M.
The panel of Chief Judge Eisenhauer, Judge Vogel, and Judge Vaitheswaran will hear the cases of Brandes v. State, on appeal from Chickasaw County District Court; Kelly v. Riser, Inc., on appeal from Scott County District Court; and Faust v. Sakas, on appeal from Dubuque County District Court.
10:30 A.M.
The panel of Chief Judge Eisenhauer, Judge Vogel, and Judge Vaitheswaran will hear the cases of Oolman v. Icon Ag Solutions, L.L.C., on appeal from Sioux County District Court; and Jackson v. State, on appeal from Polk County District Court.
The panel of Chief Judge Eisenhauer, Judge Vogel, and Judge Doyle will hear the case of Moad v. Libby, on appeal from Johnson County District Court.
1:00 P.M.
The panel of Judge Potterfield, Judge Danilson, and Judge Tabor will hear the cases of In re Guardianship of F.W., on appeal from Dubuque County District Court; Fish v. Wapello County, on appeal from Wapello County District Court; and The Village at White Birch Town Homeowners Assoc. v. Goodman Assocs., Inc., on appeal from Polk County District Court.
2:30 P.M.
The panel of Judge Potterfield, Judge Danilson, and Judge Tabor will hear the cases of State v. Anderson, on appeal from Black Hawk County District Court; O'Reilly Auto Parts v. Alexander, on appeal from Polk County District Court; and Kalona Cooperative Telephone Co. v. Iowa Utilities Board, on appeal from Polk County District Court.
The schedule for the Wednesday, October 10, Iowa Court of Appeals oral arguments in the Supreme Court Courtroom in the Iowa State Capitol is:
9:00 A.M.
The panel of Judge Potterfield, Judge Doyle, and Judge Mullins will hear the case of Lanczos v. Walker, on appeal from Polk County District Court.
The panel of Judge Doyle, Judge Mullins, and Judge Bower will hear the case of Woodward v. Monona County Board of Supervisors, on appeal from Monona District Court.
10:00 A.M.
The panel of Judge Vogel, Judge Mullins, and Judge Bower will hear the cases of Effler v. State, on appeal from Polk County District Court; Sierra Club Iowa Chapter v. Iowa Department of Transportation, on appeal from Linn County District Court; and In re Marriage of Smith, on Appeal from Shelby County District Court.
2:30 P.M.
The panel of Chief Judge Eisenhauer, Judge Vaitheswaran, and Judge Doyle will hear the cases of Christiansen v. Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, on appeal from Johnson County District Court; State v. Scott, on appeal from Polk County District Court; and In re Estate of Burger, on appeal from Dallas County District Court.
Note to Editors: News media are invited to attend the oral arguments. Court rules apply regarding still camera, video camera and audio recording device use during the oral arguments. You can find information on expanded media coverage on the Judicial Branch Website at http://www.iowacourts.gov/News_Service/Expanded_Media_Coverage/.
The Iowa Court Rules regarding expanded media coverage are on the Iowa Legislature website at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/DOCS/ACO/CR/LINC/08-15-2012.chapter.25.pdf
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