Legal Question in Criminal Law in Iowa

My brother in law recieved a deferred judgment in Dec 2011 for possession of a controlled substance and speeding. He was placed on unsupervised probabtion for 12 months and required to pay his fines, complete an affidavit every 6 months and stay out of trouble. He mistakenly submitted the last affidavit late and missed it be about a week. He now has a probation violation and has a hearing at the end of the month. What can we expect from this? Will he need a lawyer? How do we get a public defender before the hearing? Do you think the punishment will be severe? He was so close, just days away from being done and it was a simple mistake. We are just lost. His last public defender has dropped the case after the judgment was entered.


Asked on 12/12/12, 5:53 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Luedeman solo practitioner

Yes, you do need an attorney, if he is indigent he can make application to the court for the same. It sounds like a technical violation. Once judgment is entered the court appointed attorney is out of the case and doesn't represent the defendant any more.

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Answered on 12/12/12, 8:11 pm


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