The Iowa Supreme Court announced on Aug. 31 the selection of attorney Brian P. Galligan and 17 other legal experts to a task force to review the Iowa Rules of Evidence.
The task force members will evaluate and recommend changes to Iowa’s evidence rules, which were adopted in 1984 and patterned after federal standards.
The task force will analyze differences between state and federal rules
The state’s highest court previously adopted changes to The Iowa Rules of Evidence in 2017, making them more in line with revised federal rules that became effective in 2011. The goal was to modernize language while preserving substantive differences between federal and state rules.
In 2017, the Iowa working group identified over a dozen state evidence rules significantly different from their federal counterparts. The newly formed task force will undertake a more in-depth review of those disparities and recommend making any further desirable changes.
Mr. Galligan is an Iowa-born trial lawyer dedicated to protecting and fighting for victims of medical malpractice, car crashes and other types of injuries caused by the negligence and carelessness of others. He and the other esteemed task force members are expected to release their conclusions and recommendations to the Iowa Supreme Court by June 1, 2022.