809A.18  Powers of enforcement personnel.
  1.  A prosecuting attorney may conduct an investigation of any conduct that gives rise to forfeiture. The prosecuting attorney is authorized, before the commencement of a proceeding or action under this chapter, to subpoena witnesses, and compel their attendance, examine them under oath, and require the production of documentary evidence for inspection, reproducing, or copying. Except as otherwise provided by this section, the prosecuting attorney shall proceed under this subsection with the powers and limitations, and judicial oversight and enforcement, and in the manner provided by this chapter and by the Iowa rules of civil procedure. Any person compelled to appear under a demand for oral testimony under this section may be accompanied, represented, and advised by counsel.
  2.  The examination of all witnesses under this section shall be conducted by the prosecuting attorney before an officer authorized to administer oaths. The testimony shall be taken by a certified shorthand reporter or by a sound recording device and shall be transcribed or otherwise preserved. The prosecuting attorney may exclude from the examination all persons except the witness, the witness’s counsel, the officer before whom the testimony is to be taken, law enforcement officials, and a certified shorthand reporter. Prior to oral examination, the person shall be advised of the person’s right to refuse to answer any questions on the basis of the privilege against self-incrimination. The examination shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the rules dealing with the taking of depositions.
  3.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, prior to the filing of a civil or criminal proceeding or action relating to such a proceeding, documentary material, transcripts, or oral testimony, in the possession of the prosecuting attorney, shall not be available for examination by any individual other than a law enforcement official or agent of such official without the consent of the person who produced the material, transcripts, or oral testimony.
  4.  A person shall not knowingly remove from any place, conceal, withhold, destroy, mutilate, alter, or by any other means falsify any documentary material that is the subject of a subpoena, with intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance in whole or in part by any person with any duly served subpoena of the prosecuting attorney under this section. A violation of this subsection is a class “D” felony. The prosecuting attorney shall investigate and prosecute suspected violations of this subsection.
96 Acts, ch 1133, §18; 98 Acts, ch 1074, §41
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