Legislators in the Iowa House recently introduced a bill that would require anyone arrested for drunken driving to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle. Iowa’s law currently states that first-time offenders, who were not involved in an accident and whose blood-alcohol level was between .08 and .10 at the time of the arrest, …
Illegal or Not? CBD Oil Seized by Police
Police in Carroll and Muscatine recently went into five stores and seized CBD-oil products, claiming they contain illegal marijuana. This has stirred debate and concerns around the entire state of Iowa, for business owners and their customer base. The main cause for concern is two-fold; business owners were under the impression they were selling products …
Iowa Felony Convictions Nearly Tripled Since 1980
Iowa and many states across the country have experienced a dramatic increase in felony convictions in the past few decades. A study in 2010 showed that felony convictions in Iowa had almost tripled since 1980, going from 2.05% to 5.72% in just three decades. This steady increase in felony convictions has caused many states to …
Mistrial Declared for Cliven Bundy
A mistrial was declared by a federal judge for Cliven Bundy, his two sons Ammon and Ryan and militiaman Ryan Payne in their criminal conspiracy case. The men were accused of conspiring to commit a crime against officers of the Bureau of Land Management in 2014. Judge Gloria Navarro declared the mistrial after it was …
Old Law Gets Iowa Man a New Trial
Robert Reynolds, who was charged with killing a family friend in 2014, will have his new trial held in Avoca, Iowa, rather than Council Bluffs. This change occurred after he appealed based on a law from the 1880s that split Pottawattamie County by east and west, allowing everyone to be able to reach their courthouse …
Violating Probation May Result in “No Bond” in Linn County
A new policy in Linn County is attempting to prohibit bond for offenders who violate their probation. Many times, these offenders are committing the same crimes while on bond that they were arrested for in the first place. Bond is not a right given to all offenders; it is granted to offenders by the judge …
Missouri Public Defenders Suffer Under Heavy Caseload
The Missouri state Supreme Court recently suspended public defender, Karl William Hinkebein, for failure to provide adequate representation to 6 clients between the years 2011 and 2013. Hinkebein is just one of the 370 Missouri public defenders handling more than 80,000 criminal cases a year. As a result of the prosecution of Hinkebein, many public …
Mike Tyson’s Appeals of Rape Conviction, Revisited
Warning: This post may contain profane or offensive language. Reader discretion is advised. To this day, debate continues regarding whether former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson received a fair trial which led to his conviction for sexually assaulting Desiree Washington. The appellate court decisions provide insight: Refusal to Allow Impeaching Witnesses to Testify In …
The Shocking Toll of Taser Use in Police Incidents
Reuters recently conducted a detailed study of over 1000 incidents involving the use of a stun gun that ended in the death of the person stunned. Of those incidents, only a little over 150 actually cite Tasers as the cause or a contributor to death. Since Tasers became a staple in police departments in the …
False Confessions Continue to Put Innocent People in Prison
Dorothy Varallo-Speckeen thought she was volunteering to help solve a child-abuse case when she walked into the police interrogation room in 2013. She learned quickly, however, that she was Detective Marcella O’Brien’s prime suspect. O’Brien believed that Varallo-Speckeen was guilty of breaking the legs of the 15-month-old girl she was babysitting, though Varallo-Speckeen swore that …
A Push to Restrict Courtroom Identifications and End Wrongful Convictions
The age-old courtroom move of asking a key witness if he sees the person who committed the crime in the room is slowly being fazed out of the judicial process. Both Massachusetts and Connecticut have put limitations on using courtroom identifications as an approach in trials. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that a witness cannot …
New Ruling Gives Minorities in Iowa a Better Chance at Fair Trials
The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a 25-year-old ruling, stating that judges must broaden their analysis in regard to whether or not a jury pool includes enough minority members to guarantee a fair trial under the 6th Amendment. This came after an appeal by a Waterloo man convicted in 2015 of harassing his neighbor. Kelvin …