Polk County Sheriff v. Iowa District Court for Polk County

LAVORATO, Justice.

This is a certiorari action to our court brought by the sheriff of Polk County seeking to reverse a district court decision denying the sheriffs application to compel jail inmate Jerrell Brown to submit to kidney dialysis treatment. We must decide whether the district court correctly found that Brown’s liberty interest to refuse such treatment outweighs the State’s countervailing interests to preserve life, prevent suicide, protect the interests of innocent third parties, maintain the ethical integrity of the medical profession, and maintain prison security, order, and…