Des Moines, September 27, 2017— The Iowa Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments at Simpson College Wednesday, October 11, at 9:00 a.m. in the Kent Campus Center, 701 North C Street, Indianola. The court will hear two cases and take questions from the audience afterwards. The oral arguments are open to the public.
The court will hear attorneys argue the cases of State v. Zachary Flippo and State v. James Ernst II, both from Black Hawk County.
Case context
16-0721 State v. Flippo
Zachary Flippo appeals from his conviction for possession of marijuana, first offense, arguing his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when he was unlawfully detained to allow a dog sniff of a vehicle in which he was a passenger, which impermissibly prolonged the traffic stop.
16-0628 State v. Ernst
James Ernst II appeals from his conviction for first-degree murder, claiming error in the trial court's exclusion of evidence concerning a slideshow used to obtain his gun permit, in its instructions to the jury, and in its award of attorney fees without knowing the amount of attorney fees.
The Iowa Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court. It reviews appeals from trial court decisions that transferred to the court of appeals by the Iowa Supreme Court. A decision of the Iowa Court of Appeals is final unless reviewed by the Iowa Supreme Court on grant of further review. Some opinions of the Iowa Court of Appeals are published and become precedent for subsequent cases. The Iowa Court of Appeals decides the majority of appeals filed in Iowa.
Cases before the court of appeals involve a multi-judge review of a single judge's decision from the district court. There is no jury involvement when a case is on appeal. Typically, the court of appeals decides cases with randomly selected panels of judges that change in composition every three months. The oral arguments at Simpson College will allow students, faculty, staff, and the public to develop a perspective on how appellate courts operate. For more information about the Iowa Court of Appeals and the Iowa court system, visit the Iowa Judicial Branch website.
Note to news media
News media are invited to attend the oral arguments. Court rules apply regarding still camera, video camera, audio recording devices, and other electronic devices used during the oral arguments. Information on expanded media coverage is available on the Iowa Judicial Branch website.
The Iowa Court Rules regarding cameras and other electronic devices in courtrooms are on the Iowa Legislature website (PDF).
For More Information:
Steve Davis, Court Communications Director, (515)725-8058 or [email protected].
Iowa Supreme Court
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952