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State of Iowa v. Michael Hillery. IA Criminal Law: Promise of Leniency
The defendant in this Dubuque County, Iowa, case was observed making a possible drug buy, and an officer initiated a Terry stop. The officer told him that he would not be arrested that day if he cooperated, but that he might be arrested later. The defendant then handed over crack cocaine and marijuana. Three months later, he was charged with possession. He moved to suppress evidence from the stop, and the district court granted the motion, holding that the officer made an improper promise of leniency.
The state sought review, and the case was ultimately heard by the Iowa Supreme Court, which reversed. It noted that the Terry stop was proper, and the ensuing discussion did not cross the line to an improper promise of leniency. Indeed, the court noted that the officer kept his promise and did not arrest the defendant that day.
The state asked the high court to abandon its prior tests for promises of leniency, but that under those tests, the officer's conduct was permissible. The court held that the officer's "statement that he would not take Hillery to jail that day and wanted Hillery's cooperation to build a case against someone else was not language that was likely to induce Hillery to make a false confession."
No. 19-0725 (Iowa Mar. 19, 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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