Hi !

HF 826 Speed Limit Increase/Increased court costs

HF 826 raises the speed limit on rural interstates from 65 to 70 miles per hour. The speed limit increase applies only to rural interstates. The ISBA does not take a position on the increase of the speed limit portion of this bill. This has not been a policy position of The Iowa State Bar Association.

However, the ISBA does support increasing court costs in simple misdemeanor cases from $17 to $30 and the increased fine provisions in the bill. The first $7 million of the increased revenue from this legislation will be dedicated to funding the courts and bringing the courts up to their full funding request of $125.6 million. Without this funding mechanism, the courts will receive $7 million in less funding. Because of this provision and tying the increased revenue to full funding of the courts the ISBA supports HF 826.

This bill is expected to be debated on the floor of the House sometime Thursday, March 31. We are urging all ISBA members to contact their House of Representative member to urge them to support HF 826 as it relates to the increase of court costs and fines. You may do so by calling the House switchboard 515-281-3221 or emailing your legislators as follows:

E-MAIL: A list of legislators and their e-mail addresses, as well as home contact information, is on the Web at www.legis.state.ia.us. This is a great way to communicate with them.

Please forward copies of your email correspondence to ISBA lobbyist, Jim Carney, so that he may follow up on your contact. Jim’s e-mail address is carney@carneylawfirmiowa.com.

Title Standard Updates

On March 8th, The Iowa State Bar Association Board of Governors Approved Title Standard changes proposed by the Title Standards Committee.

4.11 PROBLEM:
How and under what circumstances may real estate be conveyed when title is held by a life tenant?

6.4 PROBLEM:
When is the failure to appoint a guardian ad litem for a minor, incompetent or unborn heir defendant a jurisdictional defect?

6.6 PROBLEM:
If a judgment debtor, the record titleholder, appeals from a money judgment and files the required supersedeas bond, can the debtor convey marketable title?

7.5 PROBLEM
If the release of a mortgage correctly states the document reference number and the parties, is it fatally defective if it gives the wrong date of the mortgage?

9.12 PROBLEM:
When real estate is transferred during the administration of an estate by the personal representative under Iowa Code § 633.386, or under small estate administration, Iowa Code § 635.12, or under power of sale in the will, what showings must be made to clear title with regard to the payment of taxes, administration expenses, and claims filed in the estate?

10.1 PROBLEM:
To what extent may Iowa Code §§ 614.17 and 614.17A be relied upon as a cure or remedy for imperfections in the chain of title?

14.2 PROBLEM:
What should be contained in a deed or mortgage for a condominium unit or apartment?

15.3 PROBLEM:
When real property is held in a limited liability company’s name, how should it be conveyed?

Please visit the members only legal resources link to view current Title Standards at www.iowabar.org.

2005 Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference

The 2005 Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference will be held at the BROADMOOR, Colorado Springs, Colorado, October 19-21, 2005. The conference is open to all attorneys who practice in the seven states of the Eighth Circuit and all attorneys are cordially invited and encouraged to register and attend. The Eighth Circuit is comprised of the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Among those committed to appearing at the General Sessions on Thursday, October 20, 2005 and Friday, October 21, 2005 are Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court; Ted Olson, the former Solicitor General of the United States; Linda Greenhouse, who covers the legal beat for the New York Times and whose book about the late Justice Harry Blackmun will be published this year; Eugene Fidell, an expert on military law whose topic will be “Guantanamo Bay and All That;” all three judges who currently serve on, and the general counsel of, the United States Sentencing Commission who will discuss the commission’s future and the future of sentencing in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Booker; and a panel including Professor John Yoo of Berkeley and other leading scholars, who will discuss the Supreme Court’s recent decisions. The full program is still forming; invitations to participate in the conference have gone out to a number of other distinguished speakers.

For reservation information, please call the circuit executive’s office at 314-244-2600 or write to the Circuit Executive’s Office, 111 South Tenth Street, Room 26.325, St. Louis, Missouri 63102 Attorneys may also register on-line at www.ce8.uscourts.gov/judconfpub/ beginning on June 15, 2005.