Hubert Utterback

This case involved a criminal prosecution for adultery in which the defendant was convicted of having sexual relations with Margaret L. Murray after an earlier annulment proceeding had declared him to be the common-law husband of the prosecuting witness. The majority opinion reversed the conviction on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to establish a common-law marriage or to support submission of the adultery charge to the jury. The dissent contends that the 1928 annulment decree, the parties' cohabitation and reputation as husband and wife, and circumstantial evidence of the later relationship provided substantial proof of both the common-law marriage and the charged acts, warranting affirmance of the jury verdict.

criminal lawfamily law

This case involved a mandamus action by Bernstein against the City of Marshalltown to compel the city council to issue him a permit to sell cigarettes after two applications were rejected. Bernstein had complied with all statutory requirements under Code section 1558, including being the owner and operator of the business, and the city had granted 33 similar permits while rejecting only two. The council members denied the permit based on moral concerns stemming from a prior dismissed criminal charge involving alleged obscene magazines and other items seized in a raid. The dissenting opinion reasoned that the statute confers no discretion to consider an applicant's moral character or the nature of other business activities, and that the selective denial was arbitrary and discriminatory against an applicant similarly situated to those granted permits. The dissent concluded that the council had a duty to issue the permit and that mandamus was the appropriate remedy.

business & regulatorycriminal law

This case involved a mortgage foreclosure action by Beatrice Willey against the insolvent State Savings Bank of Zearing, its receiver L.A. Andrew, and the bank's tenants on 160 acres of Iowa farmland. Willey obtained a foreclosure decree and purchased the property at sheriff's sale for less than the debt, resulting in a deficiency judgment, after which she sought appointment of a receiver to collect rents and profits during the redemption period. The trial court denied her request and awarded the rents to the bank receiver, who had leased the land and intended to retain the proceeds. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed, holding that Willey held the superior claim to the rents and profits under the mortgage terms and controlling precedent, though no new receiver was required because the existing receiver was a party bound by the ruling.

propertyprocedurebusiness & regulatory

This case involved a divorced husband's petition to modify or eliminate alimony payments to his former wife after their minor daughter married and he was demoted from railroad engineer to fireman, reducing his income from about $250 to $150 per month; he had also remarried. The trial court reduced the monthly alimony from $45 to $35 based on the changed circumstances but declined to eliminate it entirely. On appeal, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the daughter's marriage and the husband's reduced wages constituted a sufficient change in circumstances to allow discretionary modification of alimony, while his remarriage did not justify eliminating payments, and the trial court had not abused its discretion in setting the new amount.

family law

The case involved a dispute over the dismissal of longtime City Hall janitor Matthew Tillman by Des Moines' commissioner of finance and his replacement by appointee E.C. Ash, followed by the civil service commission's reinstatement of Tillman on grounds that the janitor position fell under civil service protections. Ash petitioned for certiorari in district court, which held that the commission lacked jurisdiction because Tillman was not covered by the civil service statutes and annulled the reinstatement order. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed, reasoning that janitorial duties qualified as unskilled labor exempt from civil service under Code section 5694 and that section 5695's protections for long-serving employees applied only to those already within the civil service system. The court concluded the commission exceeded its authority in entertaining the appeal, leaving Ash's appointment in place.

labor & employmentprocedure

The case involved Ralph Albert Anderson, who was indicted in Boone County, Iowa, for illegal transportation of liquor, with the indictment alleging two prior liquor-related convictions. Police found Anderson seated in a car containing 55 gallons of alcohol and a loaded revolver on a rural road; he was arrested and convicted by a jury, which also answered special interrogatories confirming his identity as the person previously convicted. Anderson challenged the sufficiency of the evidence on the identification of prior convictions, alleged prosecutorial misconduct in closing argument, and whether the facts established "transportation" since the vehicle was not observed in motion. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that the evidence was sufficient for the jury to find illegal transportation under the statute, that prior convictions were adequately proven, and that any improper argument was cured by the trial court's instruction to disregard it.

criminal law