The Constitution of the United States was ratified on September 17, 1787. In 1911, the State of Iowa was the first state to celebrate Constitution Day. To celebrate the week of Constitution Day, the Iowa Judicial Branch will join the Iowa Department of Education and The Iowa State Bar Association to present a Constitution Day program for Iowa high school students on Wednesday, September 18, in the Supreme Court Courtroom in the Judicial Branch Building in Des Moines.
Students from Woodward Granger and Mount Vernon high schools will attend a morning session of oral arguments beginning at 9:00 a.m. and students from Madrid high school will attend an afternoon session beginning at 1:30 p.m. Additionally, students from around the state are encouraged to watch the live streaming of the two Iowa Supreme Court oral arguments. Both cases involve constitutional issues.
The supreme court will hear attorneys argue in the case Michael Thomas Goodwin v. Iowa District Court for Davis County beginning at 9:00 a.m. and State of Iowa v. Juan Daniel Salcedo beginning at 1:30 p.m. An Iowa Court of Appeals judge will meet with the students immediately following the oral arguments.
Both oral arguments will be live streamed on the Iowa Judicial Branch YouTube channel.
A special Constitution Day web page for students is on the Iowa Judicial Branch website.
The page includes case summaries and briefs for both cases and an online orientation video that students in classrooms across the state will be encouraged to watch before the live streaming of the morning and afternoon oral arguments. The nine-minute orientation video, entitled "We the People: The Iowa Constitution and Our Courts," begins with Chief Justice Mark Cady addressing the importance of the Iowa Constitution and how the courts use the document to resolve disputes between Iowans. Then, former Justice Daryl Hecht explains how a person can appeal a case to the supreme court and what happens during oral arguments. The page also includes links to the United States Constitution and the Iowa Constitution.
For More Information:
Steve Davis, (515) 348-4967 or steve.davis@iowacourts.gov