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HF 644 – Criminal Procedure, Juror Qualifications, and Court Rules (LSB2122HV.1)
Staff Contact: Isabel Waller (515.281.6561) isabel.waller@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – As amended and passed by the House
Description
House File 644 relates to criminal law, including defense subpoenas in criminal actions,
depositions, conditional guilty pleas, prosecution witnesses, juror qualifications, and the Rules of
Criminal Procedure.
Division I — Defense Subpoenas
Description and Background
Division I relates to defense subpoenas in criminal actions and provides the following:
• A criminal defendant or counsel acting on the defendant’s behalf may not issue any
subpoena for documents or evidence except upon application to the court. The defendant
must prove by a preponderance of evidence that the evidence sought is relevant or will lead
to the discovery of relevant information, or that the evidence sought does not include private
information of a crime victim or any other person unless the evidence is exculpatory. This is
the exclusive mechanism for a criminal defendant or counsel acting on the defendant’s
behalf to issue a subpoena for documents or other evidence.
• An application for a defense subpoena cannot be filed or reviewed ex parte.
• The prosecuting attorney is not required to execute or effectuate any order or subpoena
issued pursuant to Division I.
• A crime victim or other party who is the subject of a subpoena must not be required by the
court to execute a waiver.
• Upon application by a crime victim or the prosecuting attorney, the court must appoint an
attorney to represent a person or entity served with a defense subpoena if the person or
entity is determined to be indigent. Counsel appointed for this purpose is paid from the
Indigent Defense Fund.
• Documents or other evidence obtained through a defense subpoena must be provided to
the prosecuting attorney within three days after receipt of the documents or other evidence.
• Documents or other evidence obtained through a defense subpoena that does not comply
with the requirements in Division I are not admissible in any criminal action if offered by the
defendant.
• The court may sanction an attorney for knowingly issuing a defense subpoena in violation of
Division I.
• An applicant for postconviction relief is not entitled to relief on a claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel as a result of evidence obtained through a defense subpoena.
Iowa Code section 815.9(1) provides the qualifications for indigency. Iowa Code section 815.11
establishes the Indigent Defense Fund. The Indigent Defense Fund consists of funds
appropriated by the General Assembly to the Office of the State Public Defender for indigent
legal defense by a court-appointed attorney.
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division 2
Assumptions
• Expanding representation by the State Public Defender to indigent individuals who receive a
defense subpoena will significantly increase costs to the Indigent Defense Fund. The
number of individuals this will apply to cannot be estimated.
• The State Public Defender reports an increase in attorney time spent on criminal cases due
to preparing additional motions and preparing for and attending additional hearings.
• State Public Defender contract attorneys are paid $78 per hour for Class A felony cases,
$73 per hour for Class B felony cases, and $68 per hour for all other cases.
• The number of applications to the court for defense subpoenas is unknown.
• An application for a defense subpoena may require an average of approximately 0.17 hours
of court time.
• The average cost per hour for a district judge or district associate judge is $101.49.
• There are approximately 68,000 felony and indictable misdemeanor cases filed annually.
Fiscal Impact
The total fiscal impact of Division I to the Office of the State Public Defender cannot be
estimated, but costs to the Indigent Defense Fund are expected to increase. The amount of
attorney time spent on certain cases will increase, and the State Public Defender expects an
increase to the Indigent Defense Fund of approximately $175,000 to $350,000 annually to pay
for these additional contract attorney hours. The Indigent Defense Fund is funded through the
General Fund. Additionally, the number of individuals for whom the State Public Defender
provides representation will increase under Division I, but the total fiscal impact of this cannot be
estimated.
Division I will likely have a fiscal impact to the Judicial Branch for the court time required to
review applications for defense subpoenas, but the extent of the fiscal impact cannot be
estimated because the number of applications that will be submitted is unknown. Table 1
demonstrates the annual fiscal impact to the Judicial Branch if an application is submitted in
10.0% of felony and indictable misdemeanor cases. The fiscal impact could vary significantly
based on the actual number of defense subpoena applications.
Table 1 — Potential Annual Fiscal Impact to the Judicial Branch
Division II — Depositions
Description
Division II provides that a person who expects to be made a party to a criminal prosecution is
not entitled to conduct a deposition in a criminal proceeding prior to being indicted for a criminal
offense.
Fiscal Impact
Division II is not estimated to have a fiscal impact.
Number of
Cases
Percent of Cases
With an Application
Court Time Per
Application
Cost Per
Hour
Total Cost
68,000 10.0% 0.17 hours $101.49$117,322 3
Division III — Conditional Guilty Pleas
Description
Division III provides that a conditional guilty plea that reserves an issue for appeal must only be
entered with the consent of the prosecuting attorney and the defendant or defendant’s counsel.
An appellate court has jurisdiction over only conditional guilty pleas that comply with this
requirement and when appellate adjudication of the reserved issue is in the interest of justice.
Fiscal Impact
Division III is not estimated to have a fiscal impact.
Division IV — Prosecution Witnesses — Minors
Description and Background
Division IV requires the Supreme Court to amend the Rules of Criminal Procedure to comply
with Iowa Code section 915.36A including but not limited to the elimination of a requirement that
a defendant be physically present at the deposition of a minor.
Under Iowa Code section 915.36A, a prosecuting witness who is a minor has the right to have
the interview or deposition taken outside the presence of the defendant. The interview or
deposition may be televised by closed-circuit equipment to a room where the defendant can
view the interview or deposition in a manner that ensures that the defendant will not have
contact with the minor. The defendant is allowed to communicate with the defendant’s counsel
in the room where the minor is being interviewed or deposed by an appropriate electronic
method.
Assumptions and Fiscal Impact
Division IV may increase costs to the State Public Defender operating budget and the Indigent
Defense Fund, as a second attorney or investigator may be required during these depositions to
communicate with the defendant who is in a separate location. However, the fiscal impact
cannot be determined.
Division V — Juror Qualifications
Description
Division V provides that the following persons are disqualified from jury service:
• A person convicted of a felony who remains under the supervision of the DOC, a
Community-Based Corrections (CBC) judicial district, or the Board of Parole.
• A person convicted of a felony who is currently registered as a sex offender under Iowa
Code chapter 692A or who is required to serve a special sentence under Iowa Code chapter
903B.
Fiscal Impact
Division V is estimated to have a minimal fiscal impact to the Judicial Branch.
Division VI — Supreme Court — Rules of Criminal Procedure
Description
Division VI requires the Supreme Court to revise the Rules of Criminal Procedure submitted for
Legislative Council review on October 14, 2022, to comply with this Bill. The revised Rules are
required to be submitted for Legislative Council review no later than June 1, 2023.
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Division VI is effective upon enactment.
Fiscal Impact
Division VI is not estimated to have a fiscal impact.
Sources
Judicial Branch
Office of the State Public Defender
/s/ Jennifer Acton
March 27, 2023
Doc ID 1371175
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in
developing this fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services
Agency upon request.
www.legis.iowa.gov