Senate Study Bill 1009 - Introduced
SENATE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE
ON JUDICIARY BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON SCHULTZ)
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to discovery and postconviction procedure.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 822.7, Code 2025, is amended to read as
2 follows:
3 822.7 Court to hear application.
4 The application shall be heard in, and before any judge
5 of, the court in which the conviction or sentence took place.
6 However, if the applicant is seeking relief under section
7 822.2, subsection 1, paragraph “f”, the application shall be
8 heard in, and before any judge of, the court of the county
9 in which the applicant is being confined. A record of the
10 proceedings shall be made and preserved. All rules and
11 statutes applicable in civil proceedings including pretrial
12 and discovery procedures are available to the parties, subject
13 to the restrictions contained in section 822.7A. The court
14 may receive proof of affidavits, depositions, oral testimony,
15 or other evidence, and may order the applicant brought before
16 it for the hearing. If the court finds in favor of the
17 applicant, it shall enter an appropriate order with respect to
18 the conviction or sentence in the former proceedings, and any
19 supplementary orders as to rearraignment, retrial, custody,
20 bail, discharge, correction of sentence, or other matters that
21 may be necessary and proper. The court shall make specific
22 findings of fact, and state expressly its conclusions of law,
23 relating to each issue presented. This order is a final
24 judgment.
25 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 822.7A Discovery.
26 1. This chapter is intended to provide a limited scope
27 of discovery that is no broader than what is afforded to a
28 defendant in a criminal action. Discovery rules and procedures
29 in actions under this chapter shall be narrowly construed to
30 permit only the discovery that is necessary to promote the
31 sound administration of justice. It shall be an abuse of the
32 discovery process to conduct discovery in violation of this
33 section.
34 2. As used in this section:
35 a. “Affected person” means any of the following:
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1 (1) A victim as defined in section 915.10.
2 (2) A person whose private information is sought in a
3 discovery request.
4 (3) A person whose private information is reasonably likely
5 to be revealed in an answer to a discovery request.
6 b. “Discovery” or “discovery request” includes any manner or
7 method of discovery permitted by the rules of civil procedure,
8 including depositions and subpoenas to produce documents or
9 other evidence.
10 c. “Private information” means any of the following:
11 (1) Information for which a person has a reasonable
12 expectation of privacy including but not limited to information
13 the state would need a search warrant to obtain, nonpublic
14 electronic communications, and information that would reveal
15 personal information immaterial to the matter.
16 (2) Any information protected by any other provision of
17 state law.
18 3. Notwithstanding any other statute, rule, or law, the
19 following limitations on discovery and procedure shall apply to
20 a claim for postconviction relief under this chapter:
21 a. No discovery in an action under this chapter may
22 be conducted unless and until permitted by order of the
23 court consistent with the limitations of this section or by
24 prior agreement of the parties. A discovery request must
25 be accompanied by a statement identifying the information
26 sought and the manner in which the proposed discovery is to be
27 conducted. A court may grant a discovery request only upon a
28 showing of all of the following:
29 (1) The information sought, and the manner in which it is
30 sought, does not unreasonably invade the privacy interests of
31 an affected person.
32 (2) Objective facts show that the information sought is
33 necessary to support or defeat a claim that is adequately
34 pled and, if taken as true, constitutes a colorable claim for
35 relief.
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1 (3) All affected persons have received notice of the
2 discovery request, including the statement identifying the
3 information sought and the manner in which the proposed
4 discovery is to be conducted, and have had a reasonable
5 opportunity to object to the proposed discovery.
6 b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, either party may obtain
7 discovery from an attorney who previously represented the
8 applicant in the underlying criminal action or on appeal
9 therefrom.
10 c. The parties shall have standing to object to or move
11 to quash any discovery request, including discovery requests
12 of third parties. An affected person shall have standing to
13 object to or move to quash any discovery request for private
14 information, including discovery requests of third parties.
15 d. Discovery involving a victim of the underlying public
16 offense shall not be conducted unless all of the following is
17 established by clear and convincing evidence:
18 (1) The evidence is necessary to prove the applicant is
19 innocent of the underlying public offense and all lesser
20 included offenses.
21 (2) The information is not available from any other source.
22 (3) Contact with a victim is minimized by limitations on
23 the method of discovery, including in camera review, remote
24 testimony, or allowing a victim to provide a written statement
25 in lieu of testimony.
26 e. Discovery of evidence subject to rule of evidence 5.412
27 shall be limited to that permitted by section 622.31A.
28 f. The state shall not be required to produce copies
29 of discovery previously disclosed to an applicant in the
30 underlying criminal action or a previous postconviction relief
31 action or that the applicant previously possessed in the
32 underlying criminal action or a previous postconviction relief
33 action except upon a showing of a compelling need.
34 g. The state shall not be required to produce any discovery
35 contained in a court file accessible to the applicant.
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1 h. The state shall not be required to produce any discovery
2 that cannot lawfully be disseminated or that is otherwise
3 confidential by law.
4 i. A discovery request or for the appointment of an expert
5 witness shall not be filed or reviewed ex parte.
6 j. The court shall not require a victim or other affected
7 person to execute a waiver of any right, privilege, or privacy
8 interest.
9 k. The state shall not be required to execute or effectuate
10 any subpoena issued pursuant to this section.
11 4. Documents or other evidence obtained by one party through
12 a subpoena must be provided to the other party within three
13 business days after the receipt of the documents or other
14 evidence.
15 5. The court may sanction an attorney or party for knowingly
16 conducting discovery in violation of this section.
17 6. The attorney-client privilege contained in section
18 622.10 shall be absolute, except that the filing of an
19 application shall waive any privilege an applicant may claim
20 regarding an attorney who represented the applicant in the
21 underlying criminal action or any previous postconviction
22 relief action.
23 7. If a person acting on behalf of an applicant contacts a
24 victim or witness, the person shall clearly inform the victim
25 or witness, either in person or in writing, of the identity and
26 capacity of the person contacting the victim or witness; that
27 the victim or witness does not have to talk to or otherwise
28 provide evidence or discovery to the applicant, the applicant’s
29 attorney, or any other agents of the applicant, unless the
30 victim or witness wishes; and that the victim or witness may
31 have an advocate or attorney present during any interview or
32 other contact.
33 8. Upon application by a victim or the state, the court
34 shall appoint an attorney to represent the victim. Counsel
35 appointed pursuant to this subsection shall be paid from the
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1 indigent defense fund established pursuant to section 815.11.
2 9. Nothing in this section shall be construed as relieving
3 the state of any constitutional obligation to disclose
4 exculpatory evidence to a postconviction relief applicant.
5 EXPLANATION
6 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
7 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
8 This bill relates to discovery and postconviction procedure.
9 The bill provides limitations on discovery and
10 procedure applicable to a claim for postconviction relief,
11 notwithstanding any other statute, rule, or law. No discovery
12 may be conducted unless and until permitted by order of
13 the court consistent with the limitations of the bill or by
14 prior agreement of the parties. A discovery request must
15 be accompanied by a statement identifying the information
16 sought and the manner in which the proposed discovery is to be
17 conducted. A court may grant a discovery request only upon a
18 showing that the information sought and the manner in which it
19 is sought does not unreasonably invade the privacy interests
20 of an affected person; the information sought is necessary
21 to support or defeat a claim; and all affected persons have
22 received notice of the discovery request and have had a
23 reasonable opportunity to object to the proposed discovery.
24 The bill provides that either party may obtain discovery
25 from an attorney who previously represented the applicant in
26 the underlying criminal action or on appeal.
27 The parties have standing to object to or move to quash
28 any discovery request, and an affected person has standing to
29 object to or move to quash any discovery request for private
30 information.
31 The bill provides that discovery involving a victim of the
32 underlying public offense may not be conducted unless all of
33 the following is established by clear and convincing evidence:
34 the evidence is necessary to prove the applicant is innocent of
35 the underlying public offense and all lesser included offenses;
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1 the information is not available from any other source; and
2 contact with a victim is minimized by limitations on the
3 method of discovery. Discovery of evidence subject to rule
4 of evidence 5.412 (sex-offense cases: the victim’s sexual
5 behavior or predisposition) are limited to that permitted by
6 Code section 622.31A.
7 The bill provides that the state is not required to produce
8 copies of discovery previously disclosed to an applicant except
9 upon a showing of a compelling need. The state is not required
10 to produce any discovery contained in a court file accessible
11 to the applicant, or to produce any discovery that cannot
12 lawfully be disseminated or that is otherwise confidential by
13 law.
14 The bill requires that documents or other evidence obtained
15 by one party through a subpoena must be provided to the other
16 party within three business days. The court may sanction
17 an attorney or party for knowingly conducting discovery in
18 violation of the bill.
19 The bill provides that if a person acting on behalf
20 of an applicant contacts a victim or witness, the person
21 shall clearly inform the victim or witness of the person’s
22 identity and capacity, and inform the victim or witness that
23 the victim or witness does not have to talk to or otherwise
24 provide evidence or discovery unless the victim or witness
25 wishes, and that the victim or witness may have an advocate or
26 attorney present during any interview or other contact. Upon
27 application by a victim or the state, the court will appoint an
28 attorney to represent the victim.
29 The bill does not relieve the state of any constitutional
30 obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence to a postconviction
31 relief applicant.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 822.7