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Constitutional amendment to restore remote testimony advances in Iowa House

iowa attorney general brenna bird
Madeleine Charis King
/
Iowa Public Radio
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's proposed constitutional amendment advanced in the Iowa House Wednesday.

Republicans on an Iowa House panel advanced a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday that would help restore the option for some child crime victims to testify remotely in a trial rather than face their alleged abuser in the courtroom.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird proposed the measure to reverse a court ruling that she said forces some victims of child abuse to either testify in a courtroom a few feet away from their alleged abuser, or let the alleged abuser walk free.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled last year that Iowa’s law allowing certain witnesses to testify from a separate room through a one-way video system is unconstitutional.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Iowa’s law allowing certain witnesses to testify from a separate room through a one-way video system is unconstitutional.

The 4-3 opinion said a defendant’s right to confront a witness who testifies against them is violated when the witness cannot see the defendant, and that the Iowa Constitution at least requires two-way video testimony, if not face-to-face testimony. The court, however, did not determine if two-way video testimony would satisfy the Constitution.

The ruling made Iowa the only state to not allow remote testimony for some child witnesses, according to Bird and Iowa Supreme Court justices.

Wendy Berkey, a family advocate at Blank Children’s STAR Center, supports the constitutional amendment. She said she talks to parents of children who are victims of crimes about whether they want their kids to testify in court, and they often decline.

“As it stands now, it’s just not something that children are able to face or that parents are willing to put their child through,” Berkey said. “And that leaves them without the ability, if they desire, to get a true sense of justice and to have a person who harmed their child held accountable, and a sense of safety for them and their child.”

What does the proposed amendment say?

The proposed amendment would add the following language to the Iowa Constitution:

“Protection of children and other witnesses. To protect children under the age of eighteen and any witness with a mental illness, intellectual disability or other developmental disability, the right of an accused to confront such witnesses may be limited by law.”

This would allow state lawmakers to authorize remote testimony, but it does not establish a specific policy.

Nathan Mundy, a criminal defense lawyer representing the Iowa Association for Justice, said the group is opposed to the amendment because it could greatly limit defendants’ rights to confront people who accused them of crimes. He asked lawmakers to instead take up a bill to establish that two-video testimony can be used for some witnesses.

“We would support that one, as far as preserving the right to a confrontation under the Iowa Supreme Court,” Mundy said. “And that would only be codified. It would not require a constitutional amendment.”

But according to Susan Krisko, deputy attorney general of criminal justice, that law change would not work because the Iowa Supreme Court could eventually rule that two-way video testimony is unconstitutional.

“So we would go forward under the assumption that maybe the court would say ok, maybe they wouldn’t. Many years would go by before the court actually makes a decision on that, and if they say no, then we’ve lost all this time,” Krisko said. “All these cases that we try that in would then have to be retried. All those [victims] would be retraumatized again.”

“It was hard to even see him in person… so I can’t even imagine the impact this would have on children, people far more vulnerable than me.”
Kent Gries, a deputy sheriff in Guthrie County

Kent Gries, a deputy sheriff in Guthrie County, said the proposed constitutional amendment is especially important to him because he testified against a man who tried to kill him.

“I’m, you know, a 40-year-old man armed with a gun, wearing a uniform — and for me, it was chilling,” he said. “It was hard to even see him in person… so I can’t even imagine the impact this would have on children, people far more vulnerable than me.”

Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City, voted to advance the proposal along with Republican Rep. Skyler Wheeler of Hull.

“I have a lot of concerns about the bill, but I think it’s important that we have it debated by the full [House] Judiciary Committee,” Thomson said.

Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, said she supports the concept, but she declined to vote for the proposal because she was not sure if it is the right approach to restoring remote testimony.

“There’s some questions that I have in my mind about, how do we best protect kids and maintain constitutional rights that I would like resolved before I sign off on it,” she said.

Amending the Iowa Constitution is a long process. The proposed amendment must be approved by two general assemblies before going on the ballot for Iowans to decide. The earliest this amendment could be adopted is in 2027.

Katarina Sostaric is IPR's State Government Reporter, with expertise in state government and agencies, state officials and how public policy affects Iowans' lives. She's covered Iowa's annual legislative sessions, the closure of state agencies, and policy impacts on family planning services and access, among other topics, for IPR, NPR and other public media organizations. Sostaric is a graduate of the University of Missouri.