Tag: trial lawyers

NFG Domestic Abuse Assault With a Firearm

Winterset, Madison County, Iowa. What may be the most ridiculous and worst investigated Domestic Abuse Assault case that GRL Law ever defended, went to trial and the jury acquitted GRL’s client in under a half-hour of deliberation.  The accusation was that GRL’s client fired four shots while standing on a hill in the woods, along a gravel road in Madison County, when he did not know that his ex-wife had arrived unexpectedly at the property.  The ex-wife claimed that shots were fired to scare her even though the perfectly in-focus pictures that she took proved that GRL’s client had his […]

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$154,900 Settlement for Wrongful Arrest

Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa.  GRL’s Government Accountability Division obtained a settlement of $154,900 for an Ankeny man who was wrongfully arrested by Ankeny Police Department earlier this year.  While the financial compensation was substantial for GRL’s client, it was not the most incredible part of this case. Apologies, especially sincere apologies, simply do not happen when a citizen accuses a government entity of misconduct or violating their constitutional rights.  Deflection, denial, victim-blame, and excuse-making tend to be the government’s go-to approaches to these types of cases. They never, ever admit that they were wrong.  However, in this case, in a […]

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Another Marijuana OWI Win!

The district court in northwest Iowa recently granted the State’s Motion to Dismiss following a ruling suppressing the results of a blood test obtained through implied consent. The drugged driving attorneys at GRL Law challenged the test results under Iowa Code section 321J.11, the state’s independent testing law. The state trooper originally requested a urine sample.  Our client agreed and also requested a blood sample. Under Iowa law, you can get an independent sample as long as you take the officer’s requested test. Rather than obtain both a urine and blood sample, however, the trooper simply changed his request to […]

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Drug Charges Dismissed Following Suppression Win

When it comes to warrantless searches, the drug crime attorneys at GRL Law really know their stuff. A recent example from North Iowa shows just how they leverage their knowledge to secure a dismissal by shining a bright light on illegal police conduct. Our client was the passenger in a vehicle that was parked one minute past the deadline in a city park.  Rather than simply wave on the driver, police decided to engage the occupants instead and request identification. When the driver rolled down the window, the officer smelled marijuana. Now, the driver owned up to a vape pen […]

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Felony OWI Amended to Public Intoxication

Follow the process.  That’s what the drunk driving defense lawyers at GRL Law do with every OWI. We meticulously sift through every bit of evidence in a case.  Every second of video.  Each word of an officer’s narrative.  All in search of a defense.   And when we find that gold nugget?  It can change everything. Take a recent felony OWI matter in southern Iowa.  The Iowa State Patrol claimed our client “refused” a urine test for marijuana metabolites. The stakes were definitely high.  Felony OWI convictions can result in lengthy prison or jail sentences and long license revocations. By applying […]

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Marijuana OWI Dismissed

GRL recently secured another NFG when the Bremer County Attorney dismissed a marijuana OWI on the eve of trial. While there were a number of problems with the state’s case, the one that tipped the scales the most was the officer’s plain view observation of “marijuana bud” in the passenger compartment.  That turned out to be a piece of Lactuca sativa otherwise know as . . . Wait for it. Lettuce. That’s right.  He seized that other green leafy substance popular with salads and wraps.  And framed the rest of his investigation from the standpoint of marijuana impairment. At least he […]

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2 NFG’s in 1 Day

GRL was busy yesterday doing what we enjoy most – Jury trials.  Bobby Rehkemper was in Ames, Story County and Matt Lindholm was in Corning, Adams County.  Both client’s were charged with operating while intoxicated accusations and declined to submit to the evidentiary breath test at the station.  The prosecution claimed that the defendant’s demonstrated observable impairment after drinking which was hotly contested.  Bobby and Matt aggressively defended each case and were successful in securing GRL’s most recent batch of NFG’s!  Cheers to the Daily NFG Double!

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Felony Drug Charges Dismissed After Deputy Whiffs on Odor

When law enforcements applies for a search warrant based on the odor of marijuana, they must describe to the magistrate how they know recognize the odor. Things like training, experience, etc., in drug interdiction are critically important to establish probable cause to issue the warrant. What happens when the application is silent on training and experience? The drug crime attorneys at GRL Law recently convinced a district court in northwest Iowa to dismiss felony drug charges following a search warrant raid. A deputy sheriff claimed to have detected the odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside a residence during an […]

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OWI Blood Test Result – Not Guilty

Indianola, Warren County, Iowa.  A Warren County Jury found GRL’s client NOT GUILTY at trial.  In an unusual case, GRL’s client was prosecuted for OWI after another driver who was high on methamphetamine, crossed the center line and hit him in a head-on collision.  GRL’s client was taken to the hospital for medical treatment and even though officers did not observe any evidence of impairment, a search warrant was obtained and his blood was withdrawn.  The test result was .084 nearly four hours after the accident.  After careful consideration of all of the evidence the jury found GRL’s client NFG.

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NFG! Reasonable Doubt Driver Traveling 111 MPH in 65 Zone

There is something incredibly satisfying about beating a speeding ticket at trial. Especially when the driver is facing a 310-day license suspension for 46 mph over the legal limit and you’ve tried everything possible to negotiate a resolution to avoid the suspension. That’s what we faced when called to a bench trial recently in west central Iowa.  Our client paid the speeding ticket without knowing he would be suspended by the DOT.  Fortunately, we were able to get the conviction set aside.  That story is probably worth a blog post on its own! But the State wouldn’t budge on the […]

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