County attorney’s office motions for reconsideration in dismissed assault case

IOWA CITY - The judge who last month threw out the case against the Coralville man accused of assaulting a woman in a portable toilet is being asked to reconsider that dismissal.

On Tuesday, Assistant County Attorney Anne Lahey filed a motion for reconsideration of Sixth District Judge Marsha Bergan's July 24 dismissal of charges against 53-year-old Ronald J. Williams for an incident that occurred in Sept. 2013.

Bergan dismissed the charges on the basis that Williams' right to a speedy trial within a year of his arraignment had been violated. In the dismissal document, Bergan said no speedy trial waiver had been filed and there was no good cause for the case to go almost six months beyond the one year requirement.

Lahey's motion argues that a verbal waiver by the defense and numerous continuances - as well as several court documents that seem to indicate that a waiver had been made and the defense was aware of it - make for good cause to extend the case.

'The State relied on the representations of Defendant's attorney, an attorney whose honesty and integrity the State has no reason to doubt,” the document states. 'If the accused is the cause or a contributing factor in the delay, he or she should not be entitled to a dismissal.”

Foster, who could not immediately be reached for comment, has until Aug. 17 to file any objection or resistance to the county's motion for reconsideration.

According to the motion document, on Nov. 2014, defense attorney Davis Foster asserted to Judge Stephen Gerard that Williams was waiving the one year speedy trial and a waiver would be filed.

The document also notes that Gerard said on Nov. 14 that no further continuances on the case would be granted without a one year waiver of speedy trial. While a waiver was never filed, the trial was reset and continued several times until ultimately being scheduled for July 28. A pretrial report from May 4 signed by Davis, Lahey and Williams included the statement 'Speedy Trial Demand: No,” according to the motion document.

A May 29 pretrial order also stated that the 'defendant's attorney informed the court that a waiver of the one year will be filed,” according to court documents.

That said, an official one year waiver of speedy trial document was never filed by the defense and Williams' case went almost six months beyond the one year mark from his arraignment.

Changing judges as the case progresses through the system is common, but in this case, County Attorney Janet Lyness said the nature of this incident, with the judge who dismissed the case not present during the original speedy trial discussions, may have played a role during the pretrial hearing.

'I think (the outcome) would have been different,” Lyness said.

Williams faced an aggravated misdemeanor charge for assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and a serious misdemeanor for indecent exposure for a Sept. 7, 2013, incident.

On that day, Williams followed a woman into a portable toilet in Lot 43 near Kinnick Stadium, according to complaints filed by the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Police say Williams locked the door behind him, exposed himself and tried to force her down. The woman had to fight to get away, police say.