Legal Question in Traffic Law in Iowa

I'm a delivery driver in Iowa, and the law states that I can drive without a seatbelt as long as I travel under 25mph. I was turning a corner and I got pulled over and ticketed for failure to wear a seatbelt. The officer refused to listen that the law states that I'm not required to wear a seatbelt under certain conditions, and wrote me a ticket that I have to miss work to go defend against. I feel like I'm being extorted because the officer thinks I don't know the law. This is costing me a days worth of wages, plus I've been reprimanded at work, and will not be receiving my yearly raise regardless if I get the ticket thrown out. I feel like I'm getting screwed because the officer was trying to get an easy $127 dollars out of me for doing nothing wrong. Can I go after the officer in small claims to get back lost wages due to his lack of knowledge of the seatbelt law? I honestly feel like his only intent was to get easy revenue from me


Asked on 5/29/14, 5:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Luedeman solo practitioner

The answer to your question as to whether you can sue the officer is no, because of sovereign immunity. Unless you can demonstrate in court that the officer's only reason for stopping you was a shakedown I probably wouldn't argue that in court.

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Answered on 5/29/14, 8:28 pm


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