Pick for Linn County prosecutor has job offer rescinded after traffic stop

An attorney picked as a new Linn County prosecutor had her job offer rescinded after a traffic stop in Marion last week.

Lisa R. Jones-Hall, 44, was stopped around 9:40 a.m. on June 30 at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 31st Street, police said. She was cited for tinted windows.

No police report was written, but Lt. Scott Elam indicated that Jones-Hall's treatment of the officer factored into the decision to give her a ticket.

“Attitude is everything,” Elam said. “We charged her with window tint, and that's all I can say. But it didn't go well from there.”

Jones-Hall, a lawyer with Iowa Legal Aid in Cedar Rapids, was set to start her duties at the Linn County Attorney's Office on Tuesday.

Interim Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden told The Gazette he withdrew the job offer based on what happened during the traffic stop. He said it was a personnel matter and declined to comment further.

Jones-Hall could not be immediately reached for comment.

Vander Sanden said he already has hired another attorney, Matthew Kishinami, of Iowa City, to be an assistant in the misdemeanor division. Kishinami was previously with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in Iowa City, and comes to the office with previous experience in misdemeanor cases.