Supreme Court considers state’s appeal on Johnson County material witness ruling

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding a challenge to the state's material witness statute Thursday, May 19, 2011, during a hearing held at the College Community Concert Hall in Cedar Rapids.

The case involved an appeal by the attorney general's office of a Feb. 8, 2010, Johnson County district court decision freeing  Justin Marshall, who had been incarcerated for four months as a material witness to the murder of Iowa City landlord John Versypt. Police have since arrested Charles Thompson in the alleged shooting.

The argument came down to a dispute regarding the wording of Iowa's material witness law, which assistant attorney general Sharon Hall described as “unique” to Iowa. The law states a material witness may be held under bond to guarantee the service of a subpoena if it appears the witness is planning to flea local law enforcement's jurisdiction.

Hall said this includes keeping a witness in custody to ensure appearance at trial, and that Marshall's aunt had purchased him a bus ticket in preparation for his leaving Iowa.

Marshall's attorney, Rachel Antonuccio, disagreed and said the law only allowed for incarceration up to the point a subpoena could be served, and that under the state's interpretation, witnesses could be jailed indefinitely.

“If Mr. Marshall were kept in jail, it would be a year and ten months until his release under the current trial date,” she said.

Justice Brent Appel questioned Hall on this topic, asking whether her interpretation allowed prosecutors to hold on to material witnesses for cases that might ultimately never come to trial.

Hall said that previous precedent gave Marshall the right to a due process hearing to challenge his incarceration, and that there was no record of abuse of the state's material witness statute.

“The state is not warehousing material witnesses indefinitely in violation of due process,” she said.

The court will issue a ruling on the trial at a future date.