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April 21, 2025 |  By: Associated Press

Iowa proposes changes to how they do testimonies in certain cases

Iowa’s top prosecutor is proposing an amendment to the state constitution to solve what one lawmaker called an “interesting conundrum,” weighing a person’s constitutional right to confront their accuser in the courtroom against the desire to protect traumatized children and vulnerable people.


But some worry the proposal could hinder a defendant’s rights in court.


The Iowa House approved the measure last week, and it passed the Senate in March, though it would take years and several more votes — by lawmakers and the public — before the state constitution could be changed.
The issue stems from a state Supreme Court decision last year that said the Iowa Constitution requires people accused of a crime and the trial witnesses testifying against them to see each other. The decision broke with decades of how the U.S. Supreme Court and other states handle the issue, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird argues.


“We are the only state that has come to that conclusion,” said Bird, a Republican. “It’s really important that we can protect kids in court, that kids who have been traumatized can have the opportunity to testify outside the presence of the person they may be very, very afraid of.”


The amendment would say that constitutional right “may be limited by law” for certain witnesses: those under 18 and those with mental illness, intellectual disability or other developmental disability.
Both legislative chambers would need to approve the measure again in 2027 or 2028 to put it before voters in November 2028.