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For immediate release - Tuesday, February 3, 2004. Contact Bob Brammer - 515-281-6699. |
Comment of Attorney General Miller:
I'm surprised and disappointed at the result reached by the sharply-divided Iowa Supreme Court. We will consider whether the Iowa Court's decision leaves the possibility for us to seek review once again by the U.S.
Supreme Court. We are not closing any doors today. In any event, of course I support action by the Legislature and Governor to tackle the major budget consequences of the
decision. I am surprised at the Iowa Court ruling because the Court majority says it applies the same tests, the same equal protection
analysis as did the U.S. Supreme Court. They say they are applying federal principles - but then come to a different result
than the U.S. Supreme Court. For sixty years, judges from Frankfurter to Douglas and from Ginsburg to Scalia have
approached cases in this context in the same way. The majority departs from them. They disagree with the U.S. Supreme
Court. In essence, as Justice Cady notes in his dissent, the Iowa Court has found the U.S. Supreme Court analysis and
unanimous decision to be completely wrong. [END]