Lucas Taylor Secures New Trial Before Iowa Supreme Court in Constitutional Challenge

Lucas Taylor Secures New Trial Before Iowa Supreme Court in Constitutional Challenge

Des Moines, Iowa. Lucas Taylor argued before the Iowa Supreme Court and secured a new trial for his client in State v. Lindaman.

The case involved a conviction for Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree. On appeal, Lucas challenged the trial procedure that allowed the complaining witness to testify by one-way closed-circuit television outside the defendant’s physical presence. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed that the procedure violated the defendant’s right to confrontation under the Iowa Constitution.

The court also agreed that Iowa Code section 915.38(1), which allowed that procedure, was unconstitutional as applied to the state confrontation right. The court held that the statute “clearly and palpably violates” the Iowa Constitution and that the district court erred by allowing the witness to testify outside the defendant’s presence.

The court concluded the error was not harmless, vacated the conviction and sentence, and remanded the case for a new trial.