Court Grants Defense’s Motion to Dismiss

Court Grants Defense’s Motion to Dismiss

Madison County, Iowa. Lucas Taylor secured a dismissal for his client in a Child Endangerment case.

The charge alleged child endangerment as an aggravated misdemeanor. Lucas filed a motion to dismiss raising a novel issue of statutory interpretation: whether the state’s minutes of testimony established that the alleged victim qualified as a minor with a “mental disability” under Iowa’s child endangerment statute.

After a hearing, the court agreed that the minutes did not establish a required element of the offense. The court granted the motion and dismissed the case, with costs assessed to the state.