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Court rejects private lawyer phone consult prior to charges
DAVID PITT, Associated Press
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowans have no right to a confidential telephone conversation with a lawyer prior to charges being filed, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday, dealing a blow to attorney-client privilege.
The decision came in a case involving a Milford man arrested for drunken driving at nearly 3 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2019. Matthew Sewell was confronted with the choice of losing his driver s license or taking a breath test when he asked to talk privately with his attorney by phone. Police rejected his request and recorded the conversation, which the attorney abruptly ended when he learned it was being recorded.
January 19, 2021
Statewide Iowa A bill under consideration in the Iowa House creates a new charge for driving at an “excessive” speed and causing someone else’s death.
According to the State Patrol, there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of tickets issued to drivers caught going more than 100 miles an hour. Last year, 69 people died in speed-related crashes in Iowa.
A lobbyist for the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association says under current law, it’s difficult to appropriately charge a speeding driver involved in a fatal crash if they weren’t intoxicated or intentionally targeting someone. If this bill becomes law, a driver could be sentenced to a decade in prison if their vehicle was going 25 miles-per-hour or more above the speed limit and it directly or indirectly caused the death of someone else.
Bill In Iowa Legislature Would Increase Penalty For Accidents Caused By High Speeds
Wed 1-20-2021
(Des Moines, IA) A bill under consideration in the Iowa House creates a new charge for driving at an excessive speed and causing someone else s death.
Under the bill, a driver could be sentenced to a decade in prison if their vehicle was going 25 miles-an-hour or more above the speed limit and it directly or indirectly caused the death of someone else.Â
A lobbyist for the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association says under current law, it s difficult to appropriately charge a speeding driver involved in a fatal crash if they weren t intoxicated or intentionally targeting someone.