Felonies

Until recently, few people in Iowa, or anywhere else, were aware of the 1033 Program. That, of course, changed after the events in Ferguson, with the police on display with an mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle (MRAP) and riot gear that looked like pictures of...

An Iowa man who did not return from work to the Cherokee Mental Health Institute's Civil Commitment Unit last Sunday was found in Oklahoma and arrested by the U.S. Marshal's Service. The man had been convicted of various sex crimes in 2008 in Wapello County, Iowa. He...

Even though the criminal justice system is supposed to have checks and balances, the sad reality is that individuals are wrongfully convicted. In some of these cases, law enforcement officials act inappropriately and others were settled based on inaccurate or...

Earlier this year, we covered a major issue in the world of criminal rights: voters' rights restoration. Many states, including Iowa, revoke a person's right to vote if he or she is convicted a felony. Although the current governor has taken a hard line against...

Readers probably know that being charged with a felony should always be taken seriously. In addition to the very real possibility of being sentenced to time behind bars, those who are convicted of a felony may lose certain privileges. Iowa law imposes a voting ban for...

Criminal charges often have a statute of limitations attached to them. This means that there are time constraints for when charges can be filed. However, other types of charges do not include a statute of limitations, including murder. As a result, a person can face...

With a referendum on Iowa City’s 21-only ordinance coming up in November, the police just released data indicating a number of crimes have dropped since the ordinance was first passed. An earlier repeal effort was only narrowly defeated, and organizers hope support...

Even after his resignation on Wednesday after the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee special prosecutor filed his report, former State Senator Kent Sorenson could still face legal repercussions from allegations that he accepted money from U.S. Representative Michele...

Back in 2003, baseball great Barry Bonds was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for his agreement to testify before a grand jury. The case came after a raid of a steroid manufacturer called the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, by federal agents....

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. That was a challenge for Iowa, which had until then required that anyone convicted of...