Iowa Supreme Court

The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices.

The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 East Court Avenue on the state Capitol grounds, south of the Iowa State Capitol.

In 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to join the United States. Following the constitution of the Federal government, the powers of the government in Iowa were divided into the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. The Iowa General Assembly divided the state into four judicial districts, and Supreme Court justices were to serve six year terms, while district judges were elected for five year terms. The Constitution of Iowa of 1857 increased the number of judicial districts to 11, and allowed the General Assembly to reorganize districts after 1860 and every four years thereafter.

The Supreme Court of Iowa is an appellate court. An appellate court reviews decisions of trial courts in which appeals have been allowed. An appellate court does not preside over trials. Appellate court hearings do not involve witnesses, juries, new evidence, or court reporters. Instead, an appellate court reviews the written record of the trial court to determine whether any significant legal errors occurred

The seven-member Supreme Court of Iowa has many important responsibilities.

Justices are appointed by the governor from a list of nominees submitted by the State Judicial Nominating Commission. A justice serves an initial term consisting of one year plus whatever time remains until the January 1st following the next judicial retention election after the expiration of the one year period. The regular term of office of justices retained at election is eight years. A justice must retire upon reaching the age of 72. The justices elect the chief justice. Terms end on December 31 of the year listed.

In re Ralph, a colored man, July 4, 1839 was the first reported decision in the Supreme Court of the Territory of Iowa, a federal court with jurisdiction similar to that the Iowa Supreme Court would eventually hold when Iowa achieved statehood. It was decided twenty six years before the 13th Amendment, eighteen years before Dred Scott, and seven years before Iowa was granted statehood. A black man from Missouri, Ralph, was allowed to travel to Iowa to work, in an attempt to purchase his freedom. When Ralph could not obtain the amount needed, the slave owner sent bounty hunters to return Ralph to Missouri. The opinion denied the slave owner while giving Ralph his freedom, expounding that the law "extend[s] equal protection to men of all colors and conditions".

In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court decided Clark v. Board of School Directors, ruling that racially segregated "separate but equal" schools had no place in Iowa, 86 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.