Tag: Appeal

Appeal Your 2023 Property Tax Assessment

Iowa Property Tax Assessments are up by record amounts across the Des Moines Metro area and the entire state.  KCCI is reporting that assessed values are going up by approximately 22% in Polk County and surrounding counties.  These record increases are being justified by the delay in valuations caused by COVID as well as the previously hot housing market.  While it is great to have property increase in value, the corresponding tax bill can really put a dent in your budget. Property owners do not have to take this budget surprise sitting down.  There is an appeal process.  GRL Law’s […]

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4/20 Conviction for Drug Paraphernalia Reversed on Appeal

The drug crime attorneys at GRL were in the news again recently after a successful appeal ruling. We persuaded the district court that a Benton County magistrate judge made a mistake in finding a container with marijuana residue constituted drug paraphernalia as that term is defined in Iowa Code section 124.414. We proved that substantial evidence did not support the interpretation of the paraphernalia statute as it applied to this container.  Had the county instead charged it under the local municipal ordinance, which is much broader than the statute, then things might have turned out differently. It pays to know […]

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NFG! 78 in 70 Reversed on Appeal

Frequent readers of the GRL Law blog are familiar with the term “NFG.” We also explain it in detail here.  A NFG can occur at trial.  Or, like this case, on appeal. At the close of the state’s case at trial, the criminal defense attorneys at GRL Law moved to dismiss the speeding charge.  Why?  The trooper testified on cross-examination that he was not sworn before a notary at the time he signed the complaint before filing it with the magistrate.  The Iowa Constitution requires a sworn verification. The magistrate refused to grant the judgment of acquittal for our client […]

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GRL Overturns License Suspension for Driver Traveling 100 MPH

The traffic ticket defense lawyers at GRL Law field calls regularly from drivers cited for excessive speed.  More often than not, it’s only after they receive a suspension notice from the Iowa DOT. That’s right.  The consequences of pleading guilty are more than just the fine, surcharge and court costs.  The DOT can suspend the privileges of anyone convicted for speeding more than 24 miles over the posted limit or what is referred to as a “serious violation.” The minimum suspension for a serious violation is 60 days (25 mph over) while the maximum is one year (49 mph or […]

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Iowa Supreme Court

GRL Law’s 15 Years of Appellate Advocacy

At GRL Law, we are preparing to argue yet another case before the Iowa Supreme Court next month in State v. Sewell.  The case involves law enforcement’s attempts to record phone conversations between arrested persons and their attorneys while at the jail.  As we prepare to argue Sewell, we also  eagerly await two pending decisions in State v. Kilby and State v. Wright.  Both of these cases involve significant issues related to the privacy and constitutional rights of Iowans. Looking back over the years, this year marks the 15th year of GRL Law’s zealous appellate advocacy.  In total, GRL Law […]

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Don’t Let Those Traffic Tickets Pile Up: How the DOT Can Pull Your Driver’s License for Multiple Moving Violations

Imagine this scenario: you get a traffic ticket for a failure to correctly use a traffic signal.  You might have failed to signal within the required distance, you might not have.  You could dispute the ticket, but you decide that it’s not worth it to take the time off from work, go to trial, and fight the ticket.  So, you decide to just send the payment in to the clerk of court.  A week or so later, you get a letter in the mail from the Iowa Department of Transportation saying that the DOT is going to take your driver’s […]

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Iowa Supreme Court to Decide Whether Refusal of a Breath Test May Be Used Against a Person as Evidence of Guilt at Trial in an Operating While Intoxicated Case

Recently, GRL Law attorney Grant Gangestad argued the case of State v. Kilby before the Iowa Supreme Court.  The case dealt with an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) charge.  The client’s charge stemmed from a fender bender in a parking lot.  Officers were called to the scene and began an investigation into possible intoxication of the driver.  The officers conducted Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and requested a preliminary breath test, which the client refused.  She was arrested and transported to the station.  At the station, officers read her an advisory which requested a breath test; if validly consented to, this breath […]

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NOT GUILTY of Conspiracy to Commit Theft

Norwalk, Warren County, Iowa.  It took almost two years of fighting but persistence paid off.  The Iowa Court of Appeals agreed that GRL Law’s client was Not Guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Theft.  In a prosecution riddled with misconduct, GRL Law’s client was convicted of a crime she did not commit.  She waived her right to request a deferred judgment on the offense to ensure that she had the right to appeal the improper conviction. GRL Law pressed on defending her innocence pro bono (for free) on appeal to the Iowa Court of Appeals.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the […]

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