Iowa Supreme Court meets in special session in RO

The Iowa Supreme Court met in special session at the Wilson Performing Arts Center on Oct. 9. The case was one of three held this year in other locations across the state to allow the public to get an inside look at judicial proceedings. The justices heard oral arguments on a case from Emmet County: the State of Iowa vs. Lee Samuel Christiensen. Christiensen was found guilty of second degree murder in July, 2016. The Iowa Court of Appeals recently reversed the conviction, after Christiensen’s defense appealed the conviction claiming juror misconduct and bias over a Facebook post threatening a riot if he wasn’t found guilty of first degree murder. More details on the case will be available in our Oct. 23 issue. Pictured are, from left, Kirk Schuler of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Des Moines, who provided the introduction to the proceedings, Chief Justice Mark S. Cady, and Justices David S. Wiggins, Susan Christiensen, Brent R. Appel, Thomas D. Waterman, and Edward M. Mansfield. Not pictured is Justice Daryl L. Hecht. (Laura Schrader/The Red Oak Express)