Iowa

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9 Iowa Cases

A volunteer prepares "I Voted" stickers at a polling station.
Iowa
Aug 2025

Voting Rights

Selcuk v. Pate

Just two weeks out from the November 2024 presidential election, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issued a directive to county clerks to challenge more than 2,000 voters at the polls on Election Day and force them to vote a provisional ballot that will count only if the voter can prove their citizenship. The Secretary’s list of more than 2,000 voters does not adequately account for Iowans who have recently become U.S. citizens through naturalization, and thus risks disenfranchising scores of eligible voters based on national origin. The Secretary’s eleventh-hour gambit violates several provisions of the U.S. Constitution and federal law, and we have thus filed emergency suit to enjoin the directive.
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Selcuk V. Pate. Explore Case.
Iowa
Aug 2025
A volunteer prepares "I Voted" stickers at a polling station.

Voting Rights

Selcuk v. Pate

Just two weeks out from the November 2024 presidential election, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issued a directive to county clerks to challenge more than 2,000 voters at the polls on Election Day and force them to vote a provisional ballot that will count only if the voter can prove their citizenship. The Secretary’s list of more than 2,000 voters does not adequately account for Iowans who have recently become U.S. citizens through naturalization, and thus risks disenfranchising scores of eligible voters based on national origin. The Secretary’s eleventh-hour gambit violates several provisions of the U.S. Constitution and federal law, and we have thus filed emergency suit to enjoin the directive.
Selcuk V. Pate. Explore Case.
State v. Hidlebaugh
Iowa Supreme Court
Jun 2025

Criminal Law Reform

State v. Hidlebaugh

This case asks whether it violates equal protection principles to impose a prison sentence, instead of probation, based on a defendant’s inability to purchase a house. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative and the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµof Iowa filed an amicus brief arguing that imposing a harsher sentence based on a criminal defendant’s inability to purchase a home impinges on the equal protection guarantees in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and article I, sections 1 and 6 of the Iowa Constitution.
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State V. Hidlebaugh. Explore Case.
Iowa Supreme Court
Jun 2025
State v. Hidlebaugh

Criminal Law Reform

State v. Hidlebaugh

This case asks whether it violates equal protection principles to impose a prison sentence, instead of probation, based on a defendant’s inability to purchase a house. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative and the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµof Iowa filed an amicus brief arguing that imposing a harsher sentence based on a criminal defendant’s inability to purchase a home impinges on the equal protection guarantees in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and article I, sections 1 and 6 of the Iowa Constitution.
State V. Hidlebaugh. Explore Case.
Singer v. Orange City
Iowa Supreme Court
May 2024

Criminal Law Reform

Singer v. Orange City

This case in the Iowa Supreme Court asked whether a city ordinance that mandates rental inspections every five years, irrespective of whether a tenant consents to the inspection and in the absence of individualized probable cause, violates the state constitution. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative assisted the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµof Iowa in filing an amicus brief to argue that tenants have a right under the Iowa Constitution to be free from non-consensual searches of their rented homes, absent a showing of individualized probable cause. The court ultimately held that the plaintiffs had raised only a facial challenge to the ordinance, and because the ordinance could operate without violating the Iowa Constitution in at least some circumstances, the challenge failed. The court's decision does not foreclose future challenges on an as-applied basis where the plaintiffs' claims are ripe for review.
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Singer V. Orange City. Explore Case.
Iowa Supreme Court
May 2024
Singer v. Orange City

Criminal Law Reform

Singer v. Orange City

This case in the Iowa Supreme Court asked whether a city ordinance that mandates rental inspections every five years, irrespective of whether a tenant consents to the inspection and in the absence of individualized probable cause, violates the state constitution. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative assisted the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµof Iowa in filing an amicus brief to argue that tenants have a right under the Iowa Constitution to be free from non-consensual searches of their rented homes, absent a showing of individualized probable cause. The court ultimately held that the plaintiffs had raised only a facial challenge to the ordinance, and because the ordinance could operate without violating the Iowa Constitution in at least some circumstances, the challenge failed. The court's decision does not foreclose future challenges on an as-applied basis where the plaintiffs' claims are ripe for review.
Singer V. Orange City. Explore Case.
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice v. Bird
Iowa
May 2024

Immigrants' Rights

Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice v. Bird

Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit to block SF 2340, one of the worst, most far-reaching immigration laws ever passed in the state of Iowa. The measure conflicts with existing federal law and will have a number of dramatic consequences for Iowans. It creates new crimes for anyone in Iowa, including a child, who has reentered the country after being deported, even if that person is now authorized to be in the U.S.  
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Iowa Migrant Movement For Justice V. Bird. Explore Case.
Iowa
May 2024
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice v. Bird

Immigrants' Rights

Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice v. Bird

Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit to block SF 2340, one of the worst, most far-reaching immigration laws ever passed in the state of Iowa. The measure conflicts with existing federal law and will have a number of dramatic consequences for Iowans. It creates new crimes for anyone in Iowa, including a child, who has reentered the country after being deported, even if that person is now authorized to be in the U.S.  
Iowa Migrant Movement For Justice V. Bird. Explore Case.
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