Iowa Supreme Court overturns 2017 ruling that allowed constitutional claims against state

[In It to Win It]

Iowa Supreme Court overturns 2017 ruling that allowed constitutional claims against state

Six years after ruling Iowans could bring suit against the state over violations of their state constitutional rights, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed itself Friday, holding that plaintiffs can seek damages for constitutional violations only where specifically permitted by the Legislature.

Friday's decision, which involved an Iowa City-area garbage truck driver arrested for refusing to cooperate in a police inspection of his truck, overturns the 2017 decision known as Godfrey II. In that case, the court considered what to do with violations of Iowa constitutional rights for which no statute, such as the Iowa Civil Rights Act or Iowa Tort Claims Act, explicitly authorized lawsuits against the state.

The court in that case ruled that such lawsuits were permissible, even without legislative authorization. But on Friday, the court, which has seen more than 50% turnover since 2017, held that decision and all its successor cases were decided wrongly.

Justice Edward Mansfield wrote for the now-unanimous court that Friday's decision will "restore the law as it existed in this state before 2017."

John Doe
@fedjudges

Today, the Iowa Supreme Court overruled its precedents allowing for damages suits under the state constitution (analogous to Bivens claims).
https://iowacourts.gov/courtcases/17340/embed/SupremeCourtOpinion

Link to tweet

[rsdsharp]

1. Oh, goody. The law in Iowa now depends solely on who sits on the court.

Every single current justice was appointed by Braindead or his mini-me, Kimmy.

[2naSalit]

2. Another method of...

Self deportation. I see a pattern here.