The Law Will Not Save Us

JOSEPH MARGULIES

Cornell law professor Joseph Margulies reminds us that the rule of law exists in the United States primarily to conceal politics; that is, one cannot rely on having “the law” on one’s side if politics are opposed. Margulies illustrates this point by replacing “the lawyers reviewed the law and decided” with “the high priests studied the entrails and decided”—a substitution that ultimately yields the same results.

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Jones v. State

Docket: 18-0745

Opinion Date: January 24, 2020

Judge: David S. Wiggins

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the postconviction relief (PCR) court dismissing Appellant's fourth PCR application, holding that under this Court's holding today in Thongvanh v. State, __ N.W.2d __ (Iowa 2020), Defendant's claims based on State v. Plain, 898 N.W.2d 801 (Iowa 2017), failed because Plain is not retroactive. In his PCR application Appellant alleged violations of his rights to equal protection and due process and his right to an impartial jury drawn from a fair cross section of the community. Appellant based his claims on Plain. The trial court granted the State's motion to dismiss, concluding that Plain does not apply retroactively. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court improperly dismissed Appellant's application based upon a ground neither party raised; and (2) because the new law of criminal procedure announced in Plain does not apply retroactively to cases on collateral review Appellant's PCR application was properly dismissed.

Thongvanh v. State

Docket: 18-0885

Opinion Date: January 24, 2020

Judge: David S. Wiggins

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court dismissing Appellant's application for postconviction relief (PCR) claiming a violation of his constitutional right to an impartial jury drawn from a fair cross section of the community, basing his claim on State v. Plain, 898 N.W.2d 801 (Iowa 2017), holding that the holding in Plain does not apply retroactively to cases on collateral review. In 1984, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder. In 2017, the Supreme Court decided Plain, which addressed the Duren three-part test for evaluating Sixth Amendment fair-cross-section claims and overruled precedent adopting the absolute-disparity method as the exclusive indicator of representativeness under the second prong of Duren. In 2018, Appellant filed the instant PCR application, alleging that he was denied his rights to due process, equal protection, and a fair and impartial trial under the state and federal constitutions. Appellant based his claim on Plain. The district court granted the State's motion to dismiss, concluding that Plain is not retroactive. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant's Plain claim is time-barred by Iowa Code 822.3; and (2) because Plain's holding is not a watershed rule of criminal procedure, it does not apply retroactively to cases on collateral review.

State v. Leedom

Docket: 18-1947

Opinion Date: January 24, 2020

Judge: Thomas D. Waterman

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court conditionally affirmed Defendant's convictions but remanded the case for an in camera inspection of the victim's mental health records, holding that the district court erred by failing to conduct the in camera inspection. Defendant was convicted of sexually abusing his granddaughter. During trial, the granddaughter lied about certain facts, and thus the granddaughter's credibility was a key issue. In her deposition, the granddaughter testified that she had disclosed the defendant's abuse to her therapist, a mandatory reporter. Noting that the therapist had not reported the alleged abuse, Defendant filed a motion for the court's in camera inspection arguing that the records likely contained exculpatory impeachment evidence. The district court denied the motion and Defendant's request for an ex parte hearing. The Supreme Court remanded the case, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion for an ex parte hearing but erred by failing to conduct the in camera inspection of the granddaughter's mental health records.