Legal Question in Criminal Law in Iowa

That's sort of an ambiguous question and I think the answer is that I myself if in your shoes would not risk it.

I think you are probably referring to the blanket restoration of felon's right to vote that was an executive order promulgated by Governor Vilsack, which has since been rescinded by Governor Branstad. Under current law a felon cannot have his voting rights restored until all restitution is paid in full.

If you were convicted of a felony, an aggravated misdemeanor or a domestic assault you would be barred from possessing firearms under federal and state law. Under federal law any crime that could result in more then a year in prison is considered a felony no matter what the state chooses to call it.

There are two separate statutes to consider, Iowa Code 724.26 and 18 USC 922(g)(1).

The question really is 'does a deferred judgment successfully completed qualify as a conviction for purposes of possessing a gun?' and the answer seems to be unclear.

In State v. Tong (Iowa Ct. App. Mar. 30, 2011), a person still on probation with a deferred judgment was considered to be a felon for the purposes of 724.26, but the court of appeals qualifies that saying 'so long as person has not completed the terms and conditions of probation and the judgment has been discharged'.

In United States v. Reth, a 2007 case from the Northern District of Iowa interpreting Iowa law, with similar facts as State v. Tong, the court refers to the analysis in Schilling v. Iowa Department of Transportation which classifies convictions in two ways: convictions that increase punishment and convictions that are for protection of the public. It concluded that 18 USC 922(g)(1) is a public protection statute and for that reason an Iowa deferred judgment qualifies as a conviction.

To summarize, your rights are unclear, and unless you want to be a test case and have unlimited funds to litigate your best course of action is to take up bow hunting. Although Tong seems to suggest that under certain circumstances your rights could be restored by successful completion of your terms and conditions of the deferred judgment, Reth seems to have already closed that door.

It is also possible to petition the governor's office for a restoration of your firearms rights, but this is also questionable because of the holding in US v. Reth and the present occupant of the governor's office.

You can find both these cases on the internet. In addition, you can read the appellate briefs in State v. Tong at the Drake Law library or the U of Iowa law library or the state library. If you have a PACER subscription, you can pull up documents in that case or contact the Clerk of Court for the Northern District of Iowa in Cedar Rapids.