Student and Teacher Resource Page for US and Iowa Constitutions

Students and teachers can now find a one-stop resource for a better understanding of the importance of the United States and Iowa Constitutions. The Constitution Day 2024 page on the Iowa Judicial Branch website presents a constitutional case argued before the Iowa Supreme Court, videos, and podcasts. The resource page is a joint effort of the judicial branch and The Iowa State Bar Association and can be found at https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/constitution-day-2024.

The resource page gives students the materials to study a real Iowa court case, In re N.S., with a constitutional issue involving restoration of a person's firearm rights. The case had gone to trial and was appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court last year. To help students discover more about the case, they can download a case summary that looks at the legal issues, the appellate briefs prepared by the attorneys for the parties, and a video of the oral arguments during which the justices asked questions of the attorneys, which will be posted after the September 12, 2024, oral arguments in the case. The final opinion of the supreme court that explains in detail the court's ruling and how the court reached its decision will be added when it is issued by the court.

The resource page has a "Welcome" video from Chief Justice Susan Christensen and links to podcasts with interviews with supreme court justices and others about the United States and Iowa Constitutions. The podcasts include interviews with State Historical Museum of Iowa Curator Leo Landis about Iowa's Constitutional Conventions, Justice Dana Oxley about the similarities and differences of the United States and Iowa Constitutions, retired Justice Brent Appel about the Iowa Constitution, Justice Edward Mansfield about how the Iowa Supreme Court selects its caseload, and Chief Justice Christensen recognizing this year's 60th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court case Gideon v Wainwright, in which the Supreme Court ruled that state courts are constitutionally required to provide an attorney in criminal cases for defendants who cannot one.

The resource page includes links to the United States and Iowa Constitutions and will remain active until September 2025, when a new case is chosen for students to study, and additional resource materials are added for the next Constitution Day.