The Iowa City Law Blog

When someone is arrested for a drug crime, specifically a drug distribution crime, the officers will seize evidence.  Notably, they will take any drugs, scales, pipes, grinders and loose cash.  They will also be looking for any sort of record keeping, such as a client list or a ledger.  All of this should be expected.

However, it might come as a surprise to some dealers that the officers will seize computers or cell phones which may have contact information in them.  This is not a big deal when the cell phone is a cheap free-with-contract model.  But this can become a very big deal when the phone is a $400 iPhone.

Officers will seize a cell phone specifically to look at call logs and text messages.

Text messages are a very clear indicator of drug sales, even if supposedly sneaky code words are used.  And as I wrote, the throw-away cell phone is not as big of a deal as the a new smart phone.

In Iowa City, these items will be kept in evidence as the case proceeds through the court.  Once the case is finalized, the items will remain in evidence in case of an appeal.

However, even after the period of the appeal has passed, the items will not be returned.  They will eventually be destroyed.

That makes sense in regard to the drugs and paraphernalia themselves.

But the iPhone is simply destroyed.

So don’t let your fancy smart phone fall victim to destruction at the hands of the I.C.P.D.

With the icy weather and cold temperatures invading Iowa, it’s time for another reminder of the whole “O” in the OWI offense.

For whatever reason, Iowa has decided to call the “DUI” offense “OWI.”  The law refers to this as both “Operating While Intoxicated” and in the same statute, “Operating While under the Influence.”  So whichever name you wish to use, it’s clear that the “O” means “Operating.”

Why not “driving?”  Well, “operating” is more inclusive.  The legislature wants to trap those people that weren’t actually driving the vehicle, but merely engaged in the operation of it.

Primarily this is going to include people sitting in their cars with the engines on and the heaters running.

This isn’t as big of a problem in the summer.  In the summer you would be fine to “sleep it off” in your car, as long as the engine was never operating and the keys were not in the ignition.

But cars cannot operate the heater without the engine being engaged, so wintertime will often lead to a few more operating-but-not-driving related OWI’s.

The penalty is the same.

Lesson?  Don’t sleep it off in your car in the winter.

Also, as a point of responsibility, often times when “sleeping it off” the amount of time it takes to achieve a non-intoxicated state will exceed the time somebody would sleep in their car throughout the morning.  If someone drinks to the point of passing out (0.15 or greater) and they pass out at 2:00 a.m., they will not be safe to drive when the sun comes up.  Many people will drink to a BAC of 0.20 or more, and that certainly will take more than a few hours in the car to return to a non-intoxicated < 0.08 level.  The only time that “sleeping it off” can really work is if your BAC is very close to 0.08, and a few hours would push it to 0.05 or less.  Nights of heavy drinking cannot be remedied by a few hours of sleep.  And anybody that jumps in the car at 8:00 a.m. after drinking hard until 2:00 a.m. is very likely violating the Iowa OWI law.

There are two ways to begin your contact with the court for an Iowa criminal charge, and both are called the Initial Appearance.  (Note, do not confuse this with the Preliminary Hearing, or even the Pretrial Conference, all are very different).

The first way to have your Initial Appearance is by being summoned at a later date.  This is most often the case with scheduled violations, such as Speeding or Possession of Alcohol Under Legal Age.

For these “tickets” the peace officer will usually write an Initial Appearance date down on the bottom of the ticket, he will ask you to sign it to acknowledge that you understand you have to appear, and then he will let you go.  This date will usually be a few weeks in the future.

Sometimes, a peace officer will release a defendant for a later Initial Appearance date even when the charge is not a scheduled misdemeanor.  This can happen regarding a Possession of Controlled Substance charge, but usually, only the Iowa State Patrol will do this.  Local police and deputies will usually bring that person into the jail.  My guess is since the Troopers cover such a large area on their patrols, they feel their time is better spent on the road than processing someone at the jail.  And perhaps it is.

The other way an Initial Appearance can occur is when the defendant is brought before the judge while still being held in jail.  This is common for all non-scheduled misdemeanors.

Either way, at the Initial Appearance the judge has the obligation to tell the defendant what they have been charged with, what the maximum and mandatory minimum penalties are, and then to set their bond (if any).

For scheduled violations, the question of the penalty rarely comes up because it is written on the ticket.  Also, it would be exceedingly rare for bond to be discussed.  The main issue is whether the defendant wishes to plead guilty, or request a trial.

For crimes greater than  simple misdemeanors, guilty pleas cannot be accepted.  The case must be halted until the state’s lawyer files a Trial Information (it’s like an indictment).

If you are questioning what plea to enter for a simple misdemeanor, you should plead not guilty.  There will be time afterward to weigh the situation and discuss your case with a lawyer.  Not guilty pleas can always be changed to guilty, but changing a guilty plea to not guilty is very difficult, and usually impossible.