Governor Culver Raises Court Fees
Posted on July 2, 2009
Filed Under Iowa City Criminal, OWI / DUI and Drug Law | Leave a Comment
Governor Culver claims that the bill he signed on May 27, 2009, did not raise taxes – but as a result of that bill you can definitely expect to pay more if you are headed to court. Read more
Iowa Court of Appeals on Investigatory OWI Stop
Posted on June 18, 2009
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How much information do police need to make a valid investigatory stop?
A recent Iowa Court of Appeals case discussed this question in resolving whether an anonymous, corroborated, tip was enough information for an officer to stop someone alleged to be intoxicated and about to drive.
The defendant, Guy Christoffersen, was charged with his second OWI after he backed into a police cruiser at 2:00 in the afternoon in the parking lot of a Subway restaurant. The police officer that stopped Christoffersen had received an anonymous tip that there was a possible intoxicated driver in a Subway parking lot about to get in a blue GMC pickup truck. The officer was only 6 blocks away at the time and arrived at that Subway in approximately 30 seconds. He saw someone getting into the driver’s seat of a blue GMC truck and pulled in behind the vehicle, in a way that would prevent the truck from being able to exit the parking lot. Just after the officer parked behind his truck, Christoffersen put it in reverse and rammed into the cruiser. Read more
Iowa Supreme Court Further Defines “Seizure”
Posted on June 4, 2009
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To activiate the protections of the Fourth Amendment, it matters whether you’ve been “seized” by the police. So when exactly does a “seizure” occur?
Other entries on this blog have discussed the important distinction of when a person is “seized” by the police, and a recent Iowa Supreme Court case, State v. Wilkes, sheds a little more light on the issue. The reason this distinction is important is because the Fourth Amendment protects individuals from “unreasonable searches and seizures” – a clause that is aimed at protecting the “privacy and security of individuals against arbitrary intrusion by government officials.” (See State v. Brecunier, Iowa Supreme Court.) If no “seizure” occurred, the protection the Fourth Amendment provides does not come into play, and a defendant’s attempts to exclude evidence obtained in violation of this provision will fail.
Wilkes involved a defendant charged with driving while intoxicated. He was spotted by police while parked at a quarry shortly after midnight, in a truck with its lights on and engine running. The police officers pulled into the quarry “to make sure everything was okay with the driver.” They did not activate the emergency lights or siren on the patrol car, and pulled about ten or fifteen feet behind the defendant’s truck. Although the quarry had only one entrance, the patrol car did not block that entrance. Read more
New Iowa OWI/DUI Ruling on Phone Calls
Posted on May 22, 2009
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In State v. Garrity, an Iowa Supreme Court case released last week, the Court clarified the duties of police officers when a defendant requests to make a phone call. Iowa law requires police officers who have someone in custody to allow that person to call, consult or see a member of the person’s family, or an attorney, or both. (Iowa Code §804.20.) In Garrity, the Court further explained that when a person in custody asks to call someone other than a family member or their attorney, police officers must advise the person of the purpose of the phone call - that is, they must tell suspects who it is they are allowed to call and why. If the police don’t give such advice, the appropriate remedy is the exclusionary rule, which extends to the exclusion of breath tests, breath test refusals, and non-spontaneous statements made after too long of a delay in allowing the person to consult with an attorney or family member. Read more
Impeaching One’s Own Witness - Iowa Law
Posted on May 14, 2009
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Formerly, a party never had the right to impeach, or question the credibility of, their own witnesses. The theory was that a person vouches for a witness she calls and is bound by what they say on the stand. However, after State v. Trost, a 1976 Iowa Supreme Court case, that is no longer the rule. Now the credibility of any witness may be attacked by any party, including the one who brings them to the stand.
However, the right of the Government to impeach a witness they call to the stand is not without limits. The Government can certainly impeach their own witness, including with evidence of a prior statement the witness made, which is inconsistent with what they say on the witness stand - even if that statement directly inculpates the defendant. However, the Government may NOT bring such a statement in under the guise of impeachment, when it is really trying to get in otherwise inadmissible evidence. Read more
Iowa City DUI/OWI - Independent Blood Tests
Posted on May 5, 2009
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If you are arrested for Operating While Intoxicated in Iowa, there are a couple of important things to know regarding your right to an independent chemical test measuring your blood alcohol content.
First, any suspect who submits to a test requested by a police officer has a right to their own independent chemical test. The request for that test must be made within a “reasonable” amount of time after the arrest and the police-administered test. Iowa courts have found that requests for an independent test made two hours or more after an arrest were not within a reasonable time frame - so the sooner a suspect requests an independent test after submitting to the police test, the better. Read more
Supreme Court Limits Warrantless Searches
Posted on April 23, 2009
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In a decision released April 21, the U.S. Supreme Court placed greater restrictions on the ability of police officers to search the vehicles of individuals they arrest. Although in general police are supposed to get a warrant before performing a search, there are a number of exceptions to that rule. One exception, which police officers have relied on for years, is the ability to search an occupant’s vehicle “incident to” their arrest of that person. According to the majority opinion released yesterday, that exception has resulted in “Countless individuals guilty of nothing more serious that a traffic violation… (who) have had their constitutional right to the security of their private effects violated.”
Limiting this exception, the Court held that warrantless vehicle searches should only be allowed in two situations: when the person arrested is close enough to the car to reach in, possibly grab a weapon or tamper with evidence; or when the arresting officer “reasonably believes that the vehicle contains evidence” pertinent to the crime that prompted the arrest. Read more
Iowa City Council Under 19 Proposal
Posted on March 13, 2009
Filed Under Iowa City Criminal, OWI / DUI and Drug Law | 1 Comment
The city council of Iowa City continues its assault on the downtown bars.
Currently, the city outlaws anyone under the age of 19 being in a liquor serving establishment after 10:00 p.m. This does not include all liquor serving establishments. Depending on the amount of alcohol a business sells, a business can get an exemption.
For example, you can buy a bottle of beer at Panchero’s, and you can still be there after 10:00 p.m. while being under 19. They have filed for the proper exemption. Whereas a true-to-form bar cannot qualify for this exemption.
The current law sets the fine at $250.00 for a first offense. Add on the mandatory 32% surcharge and $50.00 in court costs, and you are looking at $380.00 for the total bill. Remember, that you do not even have to be caught drinking, be drunk, or have a drink in your hand. Fall into any of those other categories and you will be looking at more penalties. Read more
Iowa City PAULA Update
Posted on February 12, 2009
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The Iowa City city council has approved a new measure in their assault against underage drinking. On Februrary 3, 2009, they approved a new ordinance that will punish bar owners for PAULA’s issued on their premises.
Currently, the Iowa City Police Deparment keeps statistics on PAULA’s per police visit in all of the downtown bars. Now, this information will be considered when bar owners seek to renew their liquor licenses. If a bar has more than 1 PAULA issued per police visit, their liquor license “could” be denied. And, of course, a downtown bar without a liquor license would quickly go out of business.
Therefore, one can expect greater control by bar owners of underage patrons in their establishments.
Drug Law in Iowa - “Possession” or “Intent to Distribute”
Posted on November 21, 2008
Filed Under Iowa City Criminal, OWI / DUI and Drug Law | 1 Comment
When controlled substances are discovered, the police and the county attorneys have a decision to make: Should the crime be charged as “possession” or “intent to distribute?” Absent an admission from the suspect that he is a drug dealer, what do the charging authorities look at before they make their decision? And more importantly, what will a Court use to determine whether this crime has occurred? Read more
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