Nevada, Story County, Iowa. Don’t nip at The Wolf. He bites back!
An Assistant Story County Attorney attempted to prosecute a meritless operating while intoxicated case against GRL’s client. As usual, GRL gave the prosecutor the opportunity to do the right thing but he could not “let the bear go.” When the prosecutor finally saw the writing on the wall and agreed to dismiss the case, he had already dug himself a hole that placed himself firmly in hot water. Amazingly, when called to task on his dirty deeds, the prosecutor could not drop the brush, and continued to paint himself further into the corner and was sanctioned by the court for his misconduct. Rather than tell the story from GRL’s perspective, we will let the Court’s Sanctions Order speak for itself. Prosecutorial misconduct happens more often in Iowa than most wish to admit. Unfortunately too often, prosecutors are not called to task on their misdeeds and the problem is exacerbated. GRL will not stand silent in the face of blatant misconduct. Hopefully this ruling sends a message to prosecutors throughout the State that they are not above the law. Abracadabra!
UPDATE: On appeal, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s imposition of monetary sanctions against the prosecutor concluding that Iowa law did not authorize the court’s ruling. The Supreme Court did not accept the arguments made by the prosecutor’s attorneys but instead, in a rare move, used an argument advanced for the first time on appeal by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to reverse the court’s sanctions order. The Iowa Supreme Court did NOT however make any finding that would absolve the prosecutor of the trial court’s finding of misconduct. In fact, the Iowa Supreme Court quoted former U.S. Attorney General, Robert Jackson, who said: “While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, his is one of the worst.” The Iowa Supreme Court went on to remind the courts and the voting public that there still remain other tools to hold unethical prosecutors accountable. The Iowa Supreme Court’s full decision and all of the filings before the Iowa Supreme Court may be accessed at this link.
