Cedar Rapids DUI and Criminal Lawyer: What you need to know during Covid-19
While personal court appearances are severely limited in Cedar Rapids criminal prosecutions, including DUI cases, defendants are still being
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Welcome to the David A. Cmelik Law PLC Blog Page
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Feb 28, 2020
- 4 min
Jailhouse lawyer wins appeal filed before law barring self-pleading takes effect
Jailhouse lawyer who filed supplemental brief won resentencing because Iowa appeals court ruled his appeal was pending before a law barring
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Feb 27, 2020
- 3 min
Iowa appeals court: forensic interviewer may testify as expert without interviewing
In State v. Douglas Lindaman, Iowa appeals court holds forensic interviewer was allowed to testify as expert even though she did not conduct
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Jan 25, 2020
- 3 min
Cedar Rapids DUI Lawyer: Do OWI convictions automatically "fall off" my record?
Defendants sometimes mistakenly believe that a drunk driving conviction in the State of Iowa "falls off" their record, or, is auto
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Jan 25, 2020
- 2 min
Bad weather stops yield OWI arrests
Officer Friendly will use this pretext to stop motorists he or she sees as a potential OWI (drunk driving) suspect.
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Jan 25, 2020
- 2 min
Cedar Rapids DUI Lawyer: what to expect with your 2020 OWI criminal prosecution
You know it well. The lonely chair, next to the desk. On the desk there's a computer looking thing. That's the Datamaster DMT.
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Jan 24, 2020
- 2 min
Iowa Supreme Court orders review of child accuser's mental health records
Iowa Supreme Court today decided State v. Richard Leedom, reversing trial judge's denial of a judge-only review of child's mental re
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Jan 23, 2020
- 3 min
Iowa high court upholds domestic abuse conviction
The defendant felt strongly the court should include the requirement that the government disprove self-defense in the primary instruction on
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Oct 20, 2019
- 4 min
Immigration status can inform sentencing, rules Iowa high court
Justice Mansfield writes in Valdez that sentencing courts can consider how immigration status affects other sentencing factors and thus immi
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Sep 10, 2019
- 4 min
End pretextual stops for fairness and justice
Pretextual stops are minor violation or equipment stops for which there is an ulterior law enforcement reason. Pretextual stops shake confid
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Sep 10, 2019
- 2 min
Iowa high court: redo restitution
September 6, 2019— In State v. Moore, the Iowa Supreme Court again reversed and remanded a criminal conviction for resentencing based on res
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Apr 2, 2019
- 2 min
Iowa high court: minimum court costs apply even on dismissed counts
Iowa high court says sentencing judge can divide up court costs and apply court costs according to convictions and dismissed counts, but min
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Mar 7, 2019
- 3 min
Iowa Supreme Court affirms heroin death conviction
After an Iowa jury convicted defendant of voluntary manslaughter and delivery of a controlled substance in heroin death, he appealed on doub
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Feb 9, 2019
- 3 min
Police garage not "detention" for right to phone call
Iowa high court decides sobriety testing in patrol car sally port, or, garage, is not "place of detention" to trigger right to a p
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Dec 27, 2018
- 3 min
Iowa appeals court: murder trial jury free to convict using "reasonably certain" medical e
Iowa Appeals Court affirms murder conviction in infant death deemed suspicious by "reasonably certain" emergency department doctor
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Dec 13, 2018
- 2 min
Iowa's High Court: Eluder must pay for PIT maneuver damage to police cars
Iowa Supreme Court rejects eluder's objection to restitution to pay for damages to police cars he says were damaged by their own actions
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Nov 30, 2018
- 2 min
Iowa appeals panel affirms police officer's jury conviction for on the job sex abuse
In State v. Tovar, a three judge panel of the Iowa Court of Appeals held evidence was sufficient for jury to convict a police officer for on
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Nov 9, 2018
- 3 min
Round 2 on Mom Abuse Rarity Appeal
Iowa appeals court affirms most of its previous 3-panel decision validating exclusion of expert testimony on issue of the "rarity"
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Oct 27, 2018
- 2 min
Appeals court: robbery codefendant finger pointing + a little corroboration = conviction
Iowa Court of Appeals affirms conviction for robbing and shooting fast food delivery driver with BB gun. Codefendant's told police defen
David A. Cmelik Law PLC
- Oct 19, 2018
- 3 min
Iowa Supreme Court orders new corporal punishment trial
The Iowa Supreme Court today in State v. Benson ordered a new trial in a corporal punishment case holding the trial judge’s instructions con
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