By Michael K. Lahammer —- I  feel compelled to respond to attorney Rockne Cole’s criticism (March 9) of Stephanie Rose as a nominee for U.S. District Court judge, as I was one of more than a dozen federal criminal defense attorneys who defended the illegal aliens arrested during the raid in Postville on May 12, [...]

DES MOINES — Attorney General Tom Miller has joined nine other attorneys general in signing a legal brief in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The brief, which was expected to be filed by the end of business on Friday, specifically supports the authority of the U.S. Congress to require people to [...]

UPDATE: A lawsuit filed by the Occupy Cedar Rapids protester group is headed to federal court. Occupy Cedar Rapids filed a lawsuit last week, asking a judge to issue an injunction to prevent the city from removing tents and other property from a city-owned lot they have been occupying. The city filed paperwork in U.S. [...]

A Coralville woman who killed her 2-year-old son and tried to kill her 7-year-old son has lost an appeal of her conviction, meaning her mandatory life sentence in prison will stand. Michelle Kehoe, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but was found to have had the mental capacity to know right from wrong [...]

UPDATE: A jury has been selected in the first-degree murder trial of Tonch Weldon, who is accused of shooting and killing a 35-year-old woman who was living with him and his family in 2009. Opening statements will start at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Live coverage of the trial will also start at 1:30. Scroll down the [...]

Jury selection began this morning in the first-degree murder trial of a Blairstown man accused of shooting and killing a 35-year-old woman, who was living with him and his family in 2009. Tonch Weldon, 39, is accused in the fatal shooting of Amy Gephart, who was shot once with a 20-gauge shotgun before turning the [...]

During Tonch Weldon’s first-degree murder trial, which is set to start Tuesday, defense attorneys will be allowed to tell jurors about their client’s “swinger” lifestyle with his wife and the woman he’s accused of killing. Prosecutors told a judge last week that the sexual history of Amy Gephart, the woman who Weldon allegedly shot and [...]

The trial for a Nebraska man accused of killing an Interstate 80 maintenance worker a year ago this month will be continued to October 17, a judge ruled Monday. Peter Riggs, 32, of Columbus, Neb., charged with first-degree murder, is accused of shooting and killing Jeffrey McAdam, 46, of Victor, on May 29 in the [...]

Iowa senators Tuesday shifted the latest budget pressure point back to the House, rejecting GOP representatives’ plan to deal with a backlog of unpaid bills for indigent defense by giving Gov. Terry Branstad transfer authority to deal with the issue while the split-control Legislature is still in session. Senators voted 50-0 to strike the transfer [...]

Legal services are expensive, and some in need of an attorney can’t afford one, but there are more than 240 attorneys in Linn County who will provide assistance for free. Cedar Rapids attorney Caitlin Slessor, a partner with Nazette, Marner, Nathanson and Shea, said nobody can predict what will happen in court without an attorney. [...]