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State of Iowa v. Deaonsy Smith Jr.e. IA Criminal Law
The defendant in this Dubuque County, Iowa, case allegedly committed a robbery in 2017. Shortly thereafter, he was taken into custody on an unrelated charge. After an investigation, a criminal complaint was filed in August 2018, and an arrest warrant was issued.
The defendant was never arrested, but he caught wind of the new charges. In early 2019, while in prison, he filed a written arraignment and plea of not guilty. The trial court refused these documents as premature. He requested appointment of an attorney, but this was also denied as premature. The defendant then sent a letter asserting his rights to a speedy trial. He followed up with a motion to dismiss, which was denied.
The defendant was eventually transported to Dubuque County, where his attorney once again requested that the complaint be dismissed. The trial court dismissed, the state appealed, and the case was ultimately heard by the Iowa Supreme Court.
The court agreed that due process does impose some limits on how long the state can wait to prosecute someone, but "there is no constitutional right to be arrested and charged at the precise moment that probable cause comes into existence." Generalized claims of prejudice are insufficient. Intead, there is a heavy burden of showing actual prejudice and unreasonable delay.
In this case, the lower court made general references to spoilation and failed memories. But there was no showing of how the defendant was actually prejudiced. While the court did "echo the district court's frustration with the unexplained delay," it ultimately held that the defendant had not met his burden.
For these reasons, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded.
No. 19-2011 (Iowa April 9, 2021).
Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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