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Iowa Supreme Court is coming to Charles City

The Iowa Supreme Court. The justice are, front row, left to right: Justice David S. Wiggins, Chief Justice Mark S. Cady, Justice Daryl L. Hecht. Back row, left to right: Justice Edward M. Mansfield, Justice Brent R. Appel, Justice Thomas D. Waterman, and Justice Bruce B. Zager.  Contributed photo.
The Iowa Supreme Court. The justice are, front row, left to right: Justice David S. Wiggins, Chief Justice Mark S. Cady, Justice Daryl L. Hecht. Back row, left to right: Justice Edward M. Mansfield, Justice Brent R. Appel, Justice Thomas D. Waterman, and Justice Bruce B. Zager. Contributed photo.
By Thomas Nelson, tnelson@charlescitypress.com

The Iowa Supreme Court will be coming to Charles City for the first time, April 4, as part of its effort to reach out to Iowa communities.

“It goes back to May of 2011 when the Supreme Court started going on the road to hear oral arguments in communities around the state,” Steve Davis court communications director said. “Normally, they hear oral arguments in Des Moines at nine o’clock in the morning and one o’clock in the afternoon. The justices realized that’s not convenient for people that may be curious about how the Supreme Court works and would like to see them in action.”

Since then the Iowa Supreme Court has been going the road and hearing oral arguments in the evening at a public place in different parts of Iowa, Davis said.

The Iowa Supreme Court has heard arguments in 24 communities, and the justices have visited more than 150 schools, colleges and universities, Davis said.

The day after the proceedings, the justices will visit surrounding high schools to discuss the rule of courts and answer questions from students, Davis said.

The justices will spend the night in Charles City and head out to the schools the next day.

The proceedings will be held at the old Charles City Middle School at 500 N. Grand Ave. at 7 p.m. and are open to the public on April 4.

Standard court rules apply to the proceedings. According to Iowa Court Rule 25.4, “equipment used by the news media in courtrooms during judicial proceedings must be unobtrusive and must not produce distracting sound. In addition, such equipment must satisfy the following criteria, where applicable.”

The court will be hearing, Spencer J. Ludman vs. Davenport Assumption High School, from Scott County District Court.

Ludman is the plaintiff and Davenport Assumption High School is the defendant.

Amicus Curiae Briefs have been filed for both parties. The Iowa High School Athletic Association has files a brief on behalf Davenport Assumption High School, and Iowa Association for Justice has filed on behalf of Ludman.

An Amicus Curiae Brief is a friend of the court briefing done behalf of party involved in the proceeding by a separate party not affiliated with but could be affected by the court’s decision.

The case is about whether the high school is liable for an injury sustained from a foul ball during baseball game.

There wasn’t any special reason the court decided to hear this case in Charles City. They choose cities in rather arbitrary manner, Davis said.

This isn’t the first time a Supreme Court justice has visited Charles City.

Justice Thomas D. Waterman visited Charles City High School after hearing a case in Mason City.

 

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