Iowa Supreme Court is Considering if the State Can Charge Acquitted Defendants for Court-Appointed Attorneys
The Iowa Supreme Court is being asked to consider, again, if state courts can bill poor defendants for their court-appointed lawyers, even when they’re acquitted or the charges against them are dropped.
If the court takes up the case, State of Iowa v. Ronald Pagliai, it will be the second time in recent years that Iowa’s highest court has ruled on the state’s unusually aggressive practice of billing poor defendants for court-appointed attorneys. Several civil liberties groups—the Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa, and Public Justice—filed an amicus brief in that case earlier this month, arguing that the state’s fee scheme is unconstitutionally vague and violates the presumption of innocence by levying sanctions against nonconvicted defendants.
“Courts cannot uphold a fair justice system if they are funding it on the backs of the most vulnerable people that come before them,” Lisa Foster, co-executive director of the FFJC, said in a press release. “To further extend this miscarriage of justice by enforcing it even when the case is dismissed sends a clear message that puts profit over people.”
Everyone knows the part of the Miranda rights spiel about having the right to an attorney, but fewer know that a constitutionally guaranteed lawyer isn’t necessarily free.
According to a 2022 report by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), 42 states and the District of Columbia allow courts to charge fees for public defender systems. However, civil liberties groups and news investigations say Iowa is extreme in terms of the amount of fees and the fact that it bills defendants whose charges were thrown out.Â
In February, The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news outlet covering the criminal justice system, reported on how the Iowa court system saddled indigent defendants with debts for their court-appointed attorneys, even in cases where they were acquitted.
In 2015, Lori Mathes, one of the main subjects of The Marshall Project’s story, was charged with a felony drug offense after police found two grams of marijuana in he
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