Iowa Supreme Court Justices to meet with Fort Dodge Area Students

Des Moines, IA,  October 4, 2013– On Thursday, October 10, members of the Iowa Supreme Court will visit five Fort Dodge area high schools and the community college to meet with students and discuss the role of the courts. In Fort Dodge, the justices will visit Senior and St. Edmond high schools and Iowa Central Community College. Justices will also visit Webster City, Eagle Grove, and Storm Lake high schools.

High School/Community College visit schedule for Thursday, October 10, 2013

Justice Edward Mansfield will visit Eagle Grove High School at 8:10 a.m.

Justice David Wiggins will visit Fort Dodge Senior High School at 9:00 a.m.

Justice Bruce Zager will visit Webster City High School at 9:00 a.m.

Justice Thomas Waterman will visit St. Edmond High School at 9:40 a.m.

Justice Daryl Hecht will visit Storm Lake High School at 8:15 a.m.

Chief Justice Mark Cady will visit Iowa Central Community College at 11:30 a.m.

In addition to the school visits, the supreme court will hold a special session in Fort Dodge on Wednesday evening, October 9. During the special session, the court will hear oral arguments in two cases in the new Fort Dodge Middle School auditorium, 800 N. 32nd Street. The session begins at 7 p.m. As always, oral arguments are open to the public. A public reception with the justices, sponsored by the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, will follow the oral arguments in the auditorium lobby.

Special Session

Wednesday, October 9, at 7:00 p.m.

Fort Dodge Middle School auditorium

800 N. 32nd Street

Fort Dodge, Iowa

The Iowa Supreme Court will hear lawyers argue in two cases:

Iowa Farm Bureau, et al. v. Environmental Protection Commission, et al.

Iowa Farm Bureau challenged the validity of new water quality regulations on the grounds that two of the commissioners on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) improperly participated in voting on the regulations. Petitioners also contend the district court's application of the common law de facto officer doctrine to uphold the validity of the EPC's regulations is inconsistent with the Iowa Administrative Procedure Act.

In re the Detention of Anthony Geltz

Respondent was adjudicated a delinquent at age 14 for the offense of second-degree sexual abuse. Upon Respondent's 18th birthday, the State filed a petition to have him civilly committed as a sexually violent predator. On appeal, Respondent argues the district court erred in ruling that his previous adjudication of juvenile delinquency for sexual abuse is a "conviction" for purposes of proving him to be a sexually violent predator subject to civil commitment pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 229A.

For more information about the oral arguments

Attorneys' briefs for the two cases and a "Guide to Oral Arguments" are posted on the Iowa Judicial Branch website at:

http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/Offsite_Oral_Arguments.

Note to news media

News media are invited to attend the oral arguments. Court rules apply regarding still camera, video camera, and audio recording devices used during the oral arguments. Information on expanded media coverage is available on the Iowa Judicial Branch Website at: http://www.iowacourts.gov/For_the_Media/Expanded_Media_Coverage.

The Iowa Court Rules regarding cameras and other electronic devices in the courtroom are on the Iowa Legislature website at:

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/ACO/CR/LINC/09-27-2013.chapter.25.pdf (the first page is blank)

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THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS ALREADY HURTING IOWA FAMILIES BY SHUTTING DOWN PARTS OF IOWA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND PARTS OF THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC DEFENSE

DES MOINES - AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement regarding the effect of the federal government shutdown on state government and Iowa families:

"As a result of the government shutdown, employees of Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa Department of Public Defense (Iowa National Guard) are being sent home without pay. I am aware of 69 Iowa Workforce Development employees and 111 Iowa Department of Public Defense (Iowa National Guard) employees who are being sent home.

"Iowa Workforce Development employees promote economic growth in our state by assisting workers and businesses. So in addition to the shutdown hurting our Iowa economy by sending these employees home to their families without pay, important services that Iowans rely on are not being performed because of the shutdown caused by an extreme faction of US House Republicans.

"Employees of the Iowa National Guard, both military and civilian, keep our state safe through both their service abroad and their work in defense of Iowa during natural disasters. It is absolutely shameful that they are being treated this way due to the actions of an extreme faction of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives.

"Some Republicans in the US House are beginning to see that House Republicans' demands are simply not reasonable. Representatives King and Latham should join them. Congressman Latham and Congressman King need to take their jobs seriously and stop supporting their political party's plan that holds the operations of the federal government hostage to unreasonable demands that the American people opposed at the ballot box last November."

CARBONDALE - Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will celebrate the life and legacy of the late President John F. Kennedy by delivering the keynote address at "Remembering JFK."

"John F. Kennedy visited southern Illinois during a time in our nation when people hungered for change and as the fight for civil rights raged throughout the country. While there is still work to do before true equality can be realized, we are making amazing progress," said Simon. "It has been more than 50 years since JFK's visit, but his legacy lives on."

The event takes place 53 years to the day that presidential candidate John F. Kennedy visited southern Illinois. On Oct. 3, 1960, thousands of residents flocked to see Kennedy at stops in Carbondale, Marion Harrisburg and later Venice, IL and Springfield. During his visit, Kennedy spoke to huge crowds about issues still being debated today: equality, jobs, and economic development and access to high-quality educations.

DATE: Thursday, Oct. 3

TIME: 7 p.m.

LOCATION: Ballroom B, SIU Student Center, 1255 Lincoln Dr., Carbondale

NOTE: Media availability to take place prior to the event.

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Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee

Hearing on "Continued Oversight of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act"

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today's hearing on the continued oversight of the FISA intelligence gathering programs that have been the subject of ongoing media attention.

Although the government has been partially shut down due to partisan differences over various issues, we are continuing our bipartisan oversight of this important matter here today.

We last held a hearing on this topic a few months ago, in late July.  At that time, I expressed the view that the reports in the media had called into serious question whether the law and other regulations currently in place strike the right balance between protecting our civil liberties and our national security.  This was especially so concerning the public revelation that under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the government is collecting Americans' phone records in bulk.

Additional public disclosures since our last hearing have underscored my concern.

Indeed, since that time, the Administration has declassified legal opinions reflecting significant errors by the government before the FISA court in implementing both the Section 215 and 702 authorities.  The good news is that these appear to have been, for the most part, unintentional mistakes that the government brought to the court's attention on its own accord.  The bad news is that, even with all the checks and balances built into the system, these kinds of errors can still occur.

Even more unsettling, other reports since July have suggested that there have been cases of intentional and willful misuse of intelligence authorities by NSA employees to spy on their spouses and neighbors.

These disclosures have created a broader crisis of trust in the legitimacy of our intelligence gathering methods generally.  In my view, had these programs been more transparent from the start, this trust deficit wouldn't be as severe as it is now.

This brings me to the President's response to this crisis, which has been baffling.  The President held a news conference in early August in which he defended the bulk collection of phone records as "an important tool in our effort to disrupt terrorist plots," and suggested some areas for reform.  Since then, as far as I know, he hasn't said a word in public about these issues.  If the President truly believes in the importance of these programs, he should be publicly defending them as part of our national debate.  He shouldn't be contracting out that job solely to the intelligence community.  Simply put, as in so many other areas, the President is failing to lead where he wants others to follow.

In any event, I'm pleased that we've taken a number of steps to follow up on some of these disturbing reports since July.  A bipartisan group of members of this committee requested that the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community conduct a thorough review of the implementation of these authorities.

Additionally, I wrote to the NSA Inspector General and received a public accounting of the handful of documented instances where NSA employees intentionally abused their authorities.  It was heartening to see how few cases of intentional misconduct exist.  But on the other hand, it is alarming to know that the possibility of employees engaging such behavior is very real.

The NSA Inspector General's response to my letter reflected that many of these cases were referred to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution.  I was planning on following up about how those referrals were handled with Deputy Attorney General Cole at this hearing.  However, the Chairman chose not to invite an Administration witness to provide a legal perspective on these matters.  Therefore, I will be following up with the Department of Justice about these cases with a letter to the Attorney General today.

The balance between protecting individual liberties and our national security is a delicate one.  Reasonable people can disagree about precisely where that balance is best struck.  I probably don't agree one hundred percent with any member of the two panels of witnesses we have with us today, including Professor Cordero, whom I have invited to share her valuable perspective as a lawyer with hands-on experience in the intelligence community.  But I welcome them all, and I'm pleased to hear their views as we consider various reforms to FISA and related surveillance authorities.

Thank you.