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'Easter Santa Bunny' cited as prosecutor in Iowa cases
DES MOINES — Iowa's online court system shows an unusual name for the prosecutor in hundreds of cases: Easter Santa Bunny.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that on April 4, online docket sheets for hundreds of Polk County cases were revised to indicate the prosecution had been transferred from an assistant county attorney to “Easter Santa Bunny.”
Bret Lucas, an assistant county attorney, said the situation stems from a recent realignment of cases within the county attorney’s office. Some cases were “transferred” to the Easter Bunny until all the work on the digital case transfer could be finished.
Lucas said it appears that the Judicial Branch and the IT department decided to use the fake placeholder name.
Stacy Curtis, a supervisor for the criminal division of the Polk County Clerk of Court’s Office, said the references to the Easter Bunny should not have been visible to the public.
The Easter bunny, shown here during a stop in Washington County, has shown up as the prosecutor in Iowa’s online court system. The bunny was a placeholder name as some files were being transferred, and the glitch will be fixed. (Southeast Iowa Union)
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