Des Moines, October 6, 2015– On Thursday, October 15, members of the Iowa Supreme Court will meet with students from six high schools and one college to discuss the Iowa judicial system and the role of the courts. The justices will visit high school students in Newton, Grinnell, Monroe, Bondurant, Saylor Township, and Williamsburg, and meet with college students on the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Newton Campus.
High school visit schedule for Thursday, October 15
8:30 a.m. Chief Justice Cady Grinnell High School
8:58 a.m. Justice Hecht PCM High School
9:05 a.m. Justice Appel Bondurant-Farrar High School
9:45 a.m. Justice Mansfield Newton High School
9:45 a.m. Justice Wiggins Saydel High School
10:00 a.m. Justice Waterman Williamsburg High School
11:00 a.m. Justice Zager DMACC real time reporting students, Newton Campus
In addition to the school visits, the supreme court will hold a special session in Newton on Wednesday evening, October 14, at 7:00 p.m., in the Newton High School Center for Performance, 800 East 4th Street South, Newton. During the special session, the court will hear oral arguments in one case. The oral arguments are open to the public. A public reception with the justices in the Newton High School cafeteria will follow the oral arguments.
Special session
Wednesday, October 14, 2015, at 7:00 p.m.
Newton High School Center for Performance
800 East 4th Street South
Newton, Iowa
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear lawyers argue in one case:
Hutchison, et al. v Warren County Board of Supervisors, et al.:
Former employees of Warren County contend the Warren County Board of Supervisors violated Iowa's "open meetings law," Iowa Code chapter 21, when individual supervisors met separately with the county administrator, serving as a go-between, to deliberate a proposed restructuring of the county workforce. The district court determined there was no open meetings violation because there was no gathering of a majority of supervisors. A question before the supreme court is whether "walking quorums" or "serial communications" constitute a "gathering" within the definition of "meeting" in Iowa's open meetings law.
Public reception
There will be a public reception in the Newton High School cafeteria following the oral arguments.
For more information about the oral arguments
Attorneys' briefs for the case and a guide to oral arguments are posted on the Iowa Judicial Branch website at:
http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/Offsite_Oral_Arguments_Newton
Note to news media
News media are invited to attend the oral arguments. Court rules apply regarding still camera, video camera, and audio recording devices used during the oral arguments. Information on expanded media coverage is available on the Iowa Judicial Branch Website at: http://www.iowacourts.gov/For_the_Media/Expanded_News_Media_Coverage/
Chapter 25 of the Iowa Court Rules regarding cameras and other electronic devices in courtrooms is available on the Iowa Legislature website at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ACO/CR/LINC/04-30-2014.chapter.25.pdf .
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