Bill Text: IA SSB3061 | 2021-2022 | 89th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to remote testimony in civil and criminal court proceedings.(See SF 2246.)
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-08 - Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2246. [SSB3061 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2021-SSB3061-Introduced.html
Senate
Study
Bill
3061
-
Introduced
SENATE/HOUSE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
JUDICIAL
BRANCH
BILL)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
remote
testimony
in
civil
and
criminal
court
1
proceedings.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
TLSB
5314XD
(6)
89
cm/jh
S.F.
_____
H.F.
_____
Section
1.
Section
624.1,
subsection
1,
Code
2022,
is
1
amended
to
read
as
follows:
2
1.
All
issues
of
fact
in
ordinary
actions
shall
be
tried
3
upon
oral
evidence
taken
in
open
court,
except
that
depositions
4
may
be
used
as
provided
by
law.
“Open
court”
includes
remote
5
testimony
of
a
witness
by
telephone,
videoconference,
or
other
6
remote
means
of
communication
approved
by
the
court.
7
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
801.6
Remote
testimony.
8
1.
Courts
may
direct,
and
parties
and
attorneys
may
request,
9
that
noncontested
criminal
court
proceedings
other
than
10
trials
be
held
by
videoconference
or
telephone
if
appropriate
11
technology
is
available.
District
courts
may
accept
any
12
noncontested
criminal
proceeding
testimony
by
videoconference
13
or
telephone
with
the
parties’
consent.
14
2.
In
contested
criminal
cases,
with
the
parties’
consent
15
and
in
the
court’s
discretion,
the
court
may
permit
jury
and
16
nonjury
trials
or
otherwise
take
testimony
by
videoconference
17
or
telephone
if
appropriate
technology
is
available.
18
EXPLANATION
19
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
20
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
21
This
bill
authorizes
the
use
of
remote
testimony
in
civil
22
trials,
noncontested
criminal
proceedings,
and
contested
23
criminal
proceedings
with
consent
of
the
defendant.
Under
24
current
law,
all
testimony
needs
to
be
taken
in
open
court,
25
except
for
depositions.
The
bill,
in
part,
is
a
response
to
26
the
supreme
court
of
Iowa’s
decision
in
In
re
Estate
of
Rutter,
27
633
N.W.2d
740
(Iowa
2001).
The
court
held
that
phrase
“in
28
open
court”
meant
physical
presence
in
the
courtroom
itself,
29
and
ruled
that
allowing
telephonic
testimony
over
objection
30
violated
the
statute.
The
bill
is
also,
in
part,
a
response
31
to
the
supreme
court
of
Iowa’s
decision
in
State
v.
Rogerson,
32
855
N.W.2d
495
(Iowa
2014).
In
criminal
proceedings,
the
court
33
held
that
remote
testimony
of
a
witness
would
violate
the
Sixth
34
Amendment’s
confrontation
clause.
35
-1-
LSB
5314XD
(6)
89
cm/jh
1/
1
