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HF 644 – Criminal Procedure, Juror Qualifications, and Court Rules (LSB2122HV.2)
Staff Contact: Isabel Waller (515.281.6561) isabel.waller@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – As amended by Senate amendment H-1311
Description
House File 644 as amended by Senate amendment H-1311 relates to criminal law, including
depositions, conditional guilty pleas, prosecution witnesses, juror qualifications, and the Rules of
Criminal Procedure.
Division I — Depositions
Description
Division I 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 I is not estimated to have a fiscal impact.
Division II — Conditional Guilty Pleas
Description
Division II 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 II is not estimated to have a fiscal impact.
Division III — Prosecution Witnesses — Minors
Description and Background
Division III 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.
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Services Division 2
Assumptions and Fiscal Impact
Division III 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 IV — Juror Qualifications
Description
Division IV provides that the following persons are disqualified from jury service:
• A person convicted of a felony who remains under the supervision of the Department of
Corrections (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 IV is estimated to have a minimal fiscal impact to the Judicial Branch.
Division V — Supreme Court — Rules of Criminal Procedure
Description
Division V 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.
Division V is effective upon enactment.
Fiscal Impact
Division V is not estimated to have a fiscal impact.
Sources
Judicial Branch
Office of the State Public Defender
/s/ Jennifer Acton
April 27, 2023
Doc ID 1373575
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