The city received a major blow today when the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled against their argument that Officer Kurt Rosenthal should remain fired. But did the Court actually help the city in another ongoing case?

For those who forgot, Rosenthal was fired after he admitted to leaving a sexual explicit voice mail message for another officer and driving while intoxicated. He is one of three officers fired in recent years who was reinstated by the city's Civil Service Commission, which has the power to overturn the police chief's decisions on termination.

The opinion could offer a little hope for the city in its current case against Lt. Scott Simpson (who was fired for allegedly firing a gun while intoxicated).

Simpson is asking for all the disciplinary records against every officer for the past 15 years. The city is fighting the subpoena, saying such a request would require staff to scour hundreds of personnel files.

Rosenthal presented similar evidence about disciplinary actions against other officers, but the Court said they ignored it. "While this evidence may be relevant, we conclude its relevance is marginal at best and, for that reason, is entitled to no weight, "wrote Justice Vaitheswaran.