The Iowa Judicial Branch has announced two important procedural updates that Iowa attorneys should be aware of: one affecting the Business Specialty Court and the other addressing involuntary hospitalization and commitment rules. Both orders, signed by Chief Justice Susan Christensen, are now in effect.
Business Specialty Court operation updated
The Iowa Business Specialty Court has received a procedural update via an Amended Memorandum of Operation, which replaces the previous version in full. The amendment includes two key changes: exclusion of certain cases from the business court docket, further clarifying which matters are eligible, and a transfer process allowing a presiding business court judge to return a case to the regular docket if it no longer meets the criteria for business court jurisdiction. No other changes were made beyond these clarifications. This update may affect case planning and litigation strategy for commercial and corporate matters filed in Iowa's courts.
Amendments to Rules on Involuntary Hospitalizations and Commitments
The Supreme Court also adopted amendments to Chapters 12 and 13 of the Iowa Court Rules, which pertain to involuntary hospitalizations and commitments. These changes align the court rules with recent legislative amendments to Iowa Code chapters 125 and 229. The updates primarily address: clarification of the proper venue (i.e., the county) where applications for involuntary hospitalization or commitment may be filed, and updates to associated forms, including fillable PDFs, now available alongside the redlined versions of the rule changes.
Access the full orders and materials
Both orders, along with redlined changes and supporting materials, are available on the Iowa Judicial Branch website.
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