Iowa Criminal Defense Legal Questions

You need to discuss the details with your current attorney.  I cannot give legal advice on a case where an attorney is appointed or hired.  If you do not yet have an attorney, you need to get one immediately, as you have a suspended sentence that may be affected by your new charge.  Unfortunately there are too many factors for me to discuss online- contact your attorney.... Read More

Depending upon the case, several jurisdictions might be involved.  Contact the local police and discuss it with them.  Texas and Iowa might have interests in the case depending upon how the card was obtained.  Federal authorities might also have interest.  Contact you local authorities to report the case.... Read More

There are many factors which have to be considered for sentencing.  Prior record is one of those factors.  Without providing details of the offense. level of theft, and circumstances of the offense it is not possible to provide information concerning possible sentencing.   Realize that the judge has discretion, but will base his/her decision upon the recommendations of the county attorney and the defense attorney/ defendant.  The judge will also consider the maximum and minimums provided by the Iowa Code for the offense and must stay within those limits.  The judge must also consider the rehabilitation of the defendant and the protection of society from the defendant. The judge must consider a jail sentence and fines/surcharges.  The judge can suspend jail and/or fines in certain circumstances.  The judge may also defer judgment or sentence and place the defendant on probation. I would find out what the county attorney is recommending in this case, as it is the most likely punishment that the judge will impose.... Read More

Technically if there are three counts under a criminal case number, the State is charging three crimes.  Each crime could require bond, however, it is not normally done so.  However, the three crimes could influence the final amount of the bond required (which could mean adding up the three bonds to get one bond based upon the three).... Read More

Defamation is the publication (communication to a person other than yourself) of information about you that is untrue.  The defense against defamation is that the information is true.  Thus if the information was posted online (publication) and the information is not true, the neighbor could be sued.  However, one issue with civil cases concerns damages.  What injuries have you had concerning this false publication?  If you haven't had any damages, then an attorney is unlikely to pursue the case even if defamation occurred.  This is because the neighbor might be found to have defamed you, but you may not be awarded any damages.  You would need to be able to prove your damages in court.  You need to contact a local attorney to discuss this prior to taking action. What may be better in your case is to contact local counsel and ask them to draft a letter telling the neighbor to stop or they may be sued.... Read More

You need to contact local counsel to discuss this situation.  Unfortunately there are several issues in this case, and I would need more information to give you advice.  For example. You stated that your son was 17 when he was arrested for marijuana possession.  Is this case in juvenile court or district court?  If it is in juvenile court, was this informal or formal adjudication?  Was the case waived to district court? Is there a Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) case?   As you can see, there are many questions and the answers vary per the answers.   Even if your son is now 18, if the case is a juvenile case, and it has not been waived to district court, it would remain a juvenile case for disposition. Regardless, if there is a court case, your son is entitled to an attorney if a jail term is a possibility, and marijuana has a minimum sentence of 48 hours in jail.  Thus your son should apply for a court appointed attorney with the clerk of court in the county of the charge.  Your son should have been told his rights which include the right to counsel.  Talk to counsel about the case immediately.... Read More

I'm not sure that I completely understand your question and would ask you to talk to local counsel about the details of your criminal case. Iowa Criminal Law Timeline (for indictable offenses-not simple misdemeanors): Timeline starts with arrest or citation = Day 0. Initial Appearanceoccurs without unnecessary delay (usually within 24 hours after arrest).  At this time, the magistrate informs the defendant of the complaint, right to retain counsel, right to have counsel appointed if indigent, circumstances of pretrial release, right to review conditions of release, right not to make a statement, reasonable time to obtain counsel, schedules or gets waiver of preliminary hearing, and provides a copy of the complaint to the defendant. Preliminary Hearing:  The defendant is entitled to a preliminary hearing unless there was an indictment or trial information filed or unless waived by the defendant.  The preliminary hearing is to be held no later than 10 days after the initial appearance if the defendant is in custody or no later than 20 days if the defendant is out of custody (these limits can be extended for good cause).  This is a probable cause hearing in which the magistrate determines whether there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed, and that the defendant did it.  If so, the defendant is held to answer for the crime in further proceedings.  If not, the charges are dismissed with prejudice (no refiling of charges).  Trial Information or indictment  must occur within 45 days after arrest or citation.  Trial information is filed by the county attorney charging the defendant with a crime.  Along with the trial information, minutes of testimony (or minutes of evidence) must be attached.   Failure to file the minutes of testimony with the trial information requires dismissal of information (without prejudice) upon the motion of the defendant.   After Trial information/ indictment, then arraignment occurs (no specified time in rules, but trial information must be filed before arraignment and must be conducted as soon as practicable). At the arraignment, the defendant gets a copy of the trial information, a plea is entered, bond is continued, and the case set for trial.  As to conflicts of interest and whether an attorney can represent you, this varies case by case.  If the attorney has confidential information that would affect the current case, then he should withdraw. Just because an attorney represented you years ago, doesn't necessarily mean that there is a conflict of interest.  You should talk to your attorney to see if there is a conflict.  If so, the attorney should resign, (and possibly the entire county attorney's staff and a special prosecutor assigned).... Read More

Well the answer to that is easy, yes he should get an attorney. He might have a defense to the charge if it wasn't his. And even if he does not, he will need an attorney to negotiate withe the county attorney for him. He is liable to spend a minimum 2 days in jail, get a fine, and have his driver's license suspended for six months. HE also does not want this on his public record for the rest of his life.... Read More

The officer is allowed to frisk for weapons for the protection of the officer and others.  This is not a search, but a quick check for weapons.  Search and seizure law is too complex for a generic answer.  I would consult an attorney to discuss the details of a case to determine if a suppression motion would be advisable.... Read More

The public defender or court appointed attorneys are provided when the Defendant meets the criteria for indigency or extreme hardship.  The Court appoints the attorney and the court "fires" the attorney.  You do not have the right to "fire" the attorney, but you can ask the court to appoint another attorney.  The judge is the person to "hire" and "fire" the attorney.  However, you can always hire an attorney, and that hiring will supercede the court appointed attorney. The judge is also the person to grant a continuance.  If the "firing" creates a delay, the court may not necessarily agree to the continuance depending upon certain factors such as whether the right to a speedy trial has been waived. You should discuss this issue with your attorney prior to taking action that you might regret.... Read More

You should be able to get the police to issue a harassment warning to this person. Try going further up the chain of command with the police dept. If the person is issued a harassment warning and contacts your father again,  then he can be charged with harassment, and you father can get a no-contact order from the court. You can't get a a civil no cantact order without there being a physical assault.... Read More

It would appear that based upon your question that some laws could be broken by allowing you to undress with boys, depending upon what you mean by changing clothes.  If you are completely naked or displaying genitals, there are laws against that.  If you are merely changing a smock but have on clothes, then that should not be a problem.  The employer may be opening himself up for a civil lawsuit , and possibly some privacy concerns.  Even if it is not unlawful, it is certainly not advisable and could lead to a lawsuit.  I would also think that you could avoid the changing issue by changing prior to and after work.... Read More

A deferred judgment is not a conviction.  However, to obtain a deferred judgment you must plead guilty and after successful completion of your probation, your charge is dismissed. I would contact your attorney who negotiated the deferred judgment to review your application to provide an accurate answer, because it would indicate based on your question, that you must indicate a yes answer.  However, there is usually an explanation or clarification section that you could indicate that the charge was dismissed.  However, without reviewing the document, I would be unable to give you a precise answer.  So contact your attorney to review the document and clarify how you should respond.... Read More

All state and federal laws are available online and can be searched through various search engines.  Iowa laws can be accessed at http://search.legis.state.ia.us/nxt/gateway.dll/ic?f=templates&fn=default.htm Federal laws can be accessed at: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text  ... Read More