Des Moines, August 31, 2016— The Iowa Judicial Branch will join the Iowa Department of Education and The Iowa State Bar Association to present a Constitution Day program for Iowa high school students on Wednesday, September 14. Students from around the state will be encouraged to watch the live streaming of two Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments. Both cases involve Constitutional issues.

The supreme court will hear attorneys argue in the case Board of Water Works Trustees v. Sac County Board of Supervisors, et al. beginning at 9:00 a.m. and Godfrey v. State beginning at 1 p.m.

View the Iowa State Bar Association summary of the Water Works case (PDF)

View the Iowa State Bar Association summary of the Godfrey case (PDF)

The briefs for both cases are online

Both oral arguments will be streamed on the Iowa Judicial Branch YouTube channel.

The program also includes an online orientation video that students in classrooms across the state will be encouraged to watch before live streaming the morning or afternoon oral arguments. The nine-minute orientation video, entitled "We the People: The Iowa Constitution and Our Courts," begins with Chief Justice Mark Cady addressing the importance of the Iowa Constitution and how the courts use the document to resolve disputes between Iowans. Then, Justice Daryl Hecht explains how a person can appeal a case to the supreme court and what happens during oral arguments. The video is available on the Iowa Judicial Branch website.