Tag: Results – Criminal Defense

Never Disclose Prescription Medications to Law Enforcement During a Traffic Stop

Winterset, Madison County, Iowa.  GRL has been warning anyone who will listen NOT to disclose prescription medications to law enforcement during a traffic stop.  This most recent GRL NFG demonstrates precisely why this is.  GRL’s client provided a breath sample of .037 but disclosed that he was taking his non-controlled substance medication.  The urine test that GRL’s client consented to confirmed the presence of only the prescription medication.  A young and aggressive officer, fresh off of training for driving while drugged investigations, even with the test results, still charged GRL’s client with Operating While Intoxicated and Child Endangerment.  Thankfully, GRL […]

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Open Door Policy

Boone County, Iowa.  Attorney Matt Lindholm recently represented a client facing multiple drug charges following an investigation for a motorist who ran off the road and through the field.  Officers responded the clients house to investigate the failure to maintain control.  When the client answered the door he asked to be able to put some shoes on and went back in the house to do so.  The investigating officer decided to follow the client into the house without his permission and observed narcotics forming the basis of the charge.  This entry was illegal and after attorney Lindholm filed a motion […]

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Involuntary Manslaughter and Operating While Intoxicated Charges DISMISSED

Johnston, Polk County, Iowa.  What started as an arrest for Operating While Intoxicated progressed to felony offense of Involuntary Manslaughter, but was ultimately resolved with a traffic citation for Failure to Yield Upon a Left-Hand Turn.  GRL’s client experienced a roller-coaster ride of emotion following a tragic car accident.  Client was initially suspected of being intoxicated but subsequent blood tests established an alcohol concentration well within the legal range.  Because the operator of the other vehicle involved in the accident died, while unable to prove operating while intoxicated, the prosecution amended to charge to Involuntary Manslaughter.  This charge requires the […]

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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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Court Grants GRL Motion to Dismiss Drug Charge

On November 28, 2022, the district court in Pocahontas County granted our application to dismiss a possession charge based on a violation of the one-year speedy trial provisions in Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.33. We were able to demonstrate that the state did not bring our client to trial within one year of his plea of not guilty and good cause did not exist to continue the prosecution under the circumstances. GRL took over the defense of this case from another firm and stood ready to defend the charge based on a constructive possession defense.  We believed there was […]

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3rd Times a Charm

Story County, Iowa.  Attorney Matt Lindholm was hired to represent a client charged with sex abuse who was facing a third trial after the first two trials resulted in hung juries.  The client was represented by a different attorney on the first two trials and decided that he wanted to change his strategy for the third trial.  After reviewing the forensic interview, it was determined that the nature of the allegation occurred while the client was asleep which meant that there was no possibility the client could have violated the law.  A polygraph examination was also completed and confirmed that […]

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Felony Drug Charges Dismissed After New Garbage Rip Law Struck

Hey, Senator Dawson and Representative Holt!  It’s your boy, Murph.  Didn’t I tell you in March that this wouldn’t turn out well? I’m talking about your unconstitutional efforts to restore the illegal practice of warrantless garbage searches in Iowa.  You know, the police tactic that we struck down last year in State v. Wright? The first district court to consider your magnum opus found it unconstitutional. That’s right. The State even dismissed the charges the following day. Think about it.  It took less than 24 hours for the State to decide it wouldn’t defend your garbage on appeal. And who […]

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Jury exonerates man of sexual abuse allegation from 20 years ago

HAMILTON COUNTY – Client was charged with Sex Abuse in the Second Degree based on an allegation claimed to have occurred 17 years prior.  After being initially charged, the Assistant County Attorney who was handling the case filed a Motion to Dismiss the case.  Before the motion could be granted by the Court, the head County Attorney, who was personally affiliated with the complaining witnesses father, withdrew the Motion to Dismiss.  Months later the case was turned over to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to continue with the prosecution.  Three years after the charge was brought against him, the case […]

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Drug Charge Dismissed After GRL Challenges Marijuana Identification

GRL recently put its knowledge of drug identification procedures to the test in a case involving alleged THC vape liquid. Police seized a vape cart during a traffic stop.  Field testing of the liquid extract showed a positive color change indicating the possible presence of marijuana. Frequent readers of the GRL Law blog know that field testing can mistake CBD for marijuana.  We’ve discussed this phenomenon here. This is where things get interesting. Police didn’t send the cart to the state crime lab.  Instead, they sent it to a local department that employs an officer with training in marijuana identification.  […]

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Jury Finds GRL’s Client NOT GUILTY of Sexual Abuse

Bloomfield, Davis County, Iowa.  GRL’s client was found NOT GUILTY by a Davis County jury after a long, 2-year fight against sexual abuse allegations.  GRL’s client consistently maintained his innocence from the day the accusation was made, all the way through trial.  He passed up a plea offer that would have included probation, insisting on the fact that he was innocent of the accusations.  With everything on the line the case was presented to a Davis County Jury over a span of 5-days.  After approximately two hours of deliberations the jury unanimously found GRL’s client NOT GUILTY of all charges.  […]

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