Mitchell v. City of Cedar Rapids

WATERMAN, Justice.

In this interlocutory appeal, we revisit the interplay between our civil discovery rules and a confidentiality provision in the state Freedom of Information Act, Iowa Code section 22.7(5) (2018), to determine whether the district court abused its discretion by compelling the defendants to produce police investigative reports without a protective order preventing disclosure to the public. This tort action arises out of a late-night traffic stop. A Caucasian police officer fired gunshots while struggling with an African-American motorist. The gunshot wounds rendered the…