Print
Senate File 472 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1concerning judicial branch administration, including
2mental health advocates, access to and confidentiality of
3juror information, contracting authority, apportionment
4of district associate judges, remote testimony and video
5recordings, and access to criminal history records.
6BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1DIVISION I
2PATIENT ADVOCATES
3 Section 1. Section 229.19, subsection 1, paragraph d,
4subparagraph (7), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
5(7) To utilize the related best practices for the duties
6identified in this paragraph “d” developed and promulgated by
7the judicial council.
8DIVISION II
9Jurors — information
10 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 607A.48 Public access to juror
11information.
121. Public access to juror and prospective juror information
13shall be limited. Information on the year of birth and address
14information identifying the city and zip code of prospective
15jurors shall be available to the public. However, more
16specific address information, phone numbers, and the date and
17month of birth of prospective jurors are confidential and not
18subject to disclosure without an order of the court.
192. Notwithstanding subsection 1, attorneys representing
20parties to the case are entitled to the complete juror
21questionnaires of jurors and prospective jurors without order
22of the court.
23DIVISION III
24Contracting authority
25 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 602.1209A State court administrator
26may contractually limit vendor liability.
271. The state court administrator may authorize the
28procurement of goods and services in which a contractual
29limitation of vendor liability is provided for and set forth in
30the documents initiating the procurement.
312. a. The state court administrator shall consider all of
32the following criteria when determining whether to permit a
33contractual limitation of vendor liability with regard to any
34procurement of goods or services:
35(1) Whether authorizing a contractual limitation of vendor
-1-1liability is necessary to prevent harm to the state from
2a failure to obtain the goods or services sought, or from
3obtaining the goods or services at a higher price if the state
4refuses to allow a contractual limitation of vendor liability.
5(2) Whether the contractual limitation of vendor liability
6is commercially reasonable when taking into account any risk to
7the state created by the goods or services to be procured and
8the purpose for which they will be used.
9b. The state court administrator may consider additional
10criteria.
113. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a contractual limitation
12of vendor liability shall not include any limitation on the
13liability of any vendor for intentional torts, criminal acts,
14or fraudulent conduct.
15DIVISION IV
16Apportionment of district Associate Judges
17 Sec. 4. Section 602.6301, Code 2023, is amended to read as
18follows:
19602.6301 Number and apportionment of district associate
20judges.
211. There shall be one district associate judge in counties
22having a population of more than thirty-five thousand and less
23than eighty thousand; two in counties having a population of
24eighty thousand or more and less than one hundred twenty-five
25thousand; three in counties having a population of one
26hundred twenty-five thousand or more and less than one hundred
27seventy thousand; four in counties having a population of one
28hundred seventy thousand or more and less than two hundred
29fifteen thousand; five in counties having a population of two
30hundred fifteen thousand or more and less than two hundred
31sixty thousand; six in counties having a population of two
32hundred sixty thousand or more and less than three hundred
33five thousand; seven in counties having a population of three
34hundred five thousand or more and less than three hundred
35fifty thousand; eight in counties having a population of three
-2-1hundred fifty thousand or more and less than three hundred
2ninety-five thousand; nine in counties having a population of
3three hundred ninety-five thousand or more and less than four
4hundred forty thousand; ten in counties having a population of
5four hundred forty thousand or more and less than four hundred
6eighty-five thousand; and one additional judge for every
7population increment of thirty-five thousand which is over
8four hundred eighty-five thousand in such counties. However,
9a county shall not lose a district associate judgeship solely
10because of a reduction in the county’s population. If the
11formula provided in this section results in the allocation
12of an additional district associate judgeship to a county,
13implementation of the allocation shall be subject to prior
14approval of the supreme court and availability of funds to the
15judicial branch. The supreme court shall prescribe, subject
16to the restrictions of this section, a formula to determine
17the number of district associate judges who will serve in each
18judicial election district. The formula shall be based upon
19a model that measures and applies an estimated case-related
20workload formula of judicial officers, and shall account for
21administrative duties, travel time, and other judicial duties
22not related to a specific case. A district associate judge
23appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not
24be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of
25a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also
26shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
272. For purposes of this section, “vacancy” means the death,
28resignation, retirement, or removal of a district associate
29judge, or the failure of a district associate judge to be
30retained in office at the judicial election, or an increase in
31judgeships under the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
323. In those judicial election districts having more
33district associate judges than the number of judgeships
34specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies
35shall not be filled.
-3- 14. In those judicial election districts having fewer or
2the same number of district associate judges as the number of
3judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1,
4vacancies shall be filled as the vacancies occur.
55. In those judicial districts that contain more than one
6judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election
7district shall not be filled if the total number of district
8associate judges in all judicial election districts within
9the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number
10of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts
11of the judicial district are authorized by the formula in
12subsection 1.
136. An incumbent district associate judge shall not be
14removed from office because of a reduction in the number of
15authorized judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in
16subsection 1.
17DIVISION V
18Remote testimony and video recordings
19 Sec. 5. Section 602.3205, Code 2023, is amended to read as
20follows:
21602.3205 Audio and video recordings.
221. Except as provided in subsection 2 or 3, a certified
23shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely
24for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of
25a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation
26of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal
27property and private work product of the certified shorthand
28reporter.
292. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
30reporter appointed under section 602.6603 shall be provided to
31the presiding judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon
32court order for good cause shown.
333. a. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
34reporter shall be provided to the board upon request by the
35board if a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the
-4-1certified shorthand reporter who is a respondent under the
2provisions of section 602.3203 or the rules of the board of
3examiners of shorthand reporters, Iowa court rules, ch.46.
4b. The audio and video recordings provided to the board
5pursuant to this subsection shall be kept confidential by the
6board in a manner as provided in section 272C.6, subsection 4.
7 Sec. 6. Section 624.1, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended
8to read as follows:
91. All issues of fact in ordinary actions shall be tried
10upon oral evidence taken in open court, except that depositions
11may be used as provided by law. “Open court” includes remote
12testimony of a witness by telephone, videoconference, or other
13remote means of communication approved by the court.
14DIVISION VI
15Access to criminal history records
16 Sec. 7. Section 692.2, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended
17to read as follows:
185. A person other than the department of public safety
19shall not disseminate criminal history data maintained by the
20department to persons who are not criminal or juvenile justice
21agencies, except as set forth in section 692.3.
22 Sec. 8. Section 692.3, subsection 3, Code 2023, is amended
23to read as follows:
243. The information described in this section subsections
251 and 2 may be redisseminated through any written, audio, or
26visual means utilized by a criminal or juvenile justice agency.
27 Sec. 9. Section 692.3, Code 2023, is amended by adding the
28following new subsections:
29 NEW SUBSECTION. 4. A person may disseminate criminal
30history data of an accused to the attorney of the accused and
31to self-represented litigants in a pending criminal matter
32in district or juvenile court, if the criminal history data
33is already part of the prosecution’s file and subject to a
34discovery obligation.
35 NEW SUBSECTION. 5. Upon order of the court, a person may
-5-1disseminate criminal history data of an accused that is not
2already part of the prosecution’s file, or criminal history
3data of a witness, to the attorney of the accused, prosecutors,
4and to self-represented litigants in a pending criminal matter
5in district or juvenile court.
6EXPLANATION
7The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
8the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
9This bill relates to judicial branch administration.
10PATIENT ADVOCATES. The bill removes the requirement that
11the judicial council develop and promulgate best practices for
12court-assigned advocates of persons with mental illness. Under
13the bill, such advocates may use any best practices for their
14duties.
15JURORS — INFORMATION. The bill provides that prospective
16juror year of birth and city and zip code address information
17is available to the public but that more specific address
18information, phone numbers, and date and month of birth are
19confidential and are not subject to disclosure without an order
20of the court. Attorneys representing parties to the case
21are entitled to complete juror questionnaires of jurors and
22prospective jurors without court order.
23CONTRACTING AUTHORITY. The bill allows the state court
24administrator to enter into contracts with vendors that include
25limitations of liability for the vendors, after considering
26certain criteria set forth in the bill. However, the bill
27prohibits limitations of liability for any intentional torts,
28criminal acts, or fraudulent conduct by the vendor.
29APPORTIONMENT OF DISTRICT ASSOCIATE JUDGES. The bill
30provides for a new formula to be prescribed by the Iowa supreme
31court for apportioning district associate judges based upon
32a weighted workload. Under current law, district associate
33judges are apportioned based upon county population.
34The bill provides that in judicial election districts
35that currently have more district associate judges than the
-6-1new formula prescribes, vacancies shall not be filled, while
2districts having fewer or the same shall fill vacancies as
3they occur. In judicial districts that contain more than one
4judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election
5district shall not be filled if the total number of district
6associate judges in all judicial election districts within
7the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number
8of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts
9of the judicial district are authorized. Incumbents shall
10not be removed because of a reduction in number of authorized
11judgeships.
12REMOTE TESTIMONY AND VIDEO RECORDINGS. The bill adds video
13recordings to Code section 602.3205 (certified shorthand
14reporter audio recordings). The bill provides that a certified
15shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely
16for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of
17a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation
18of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal
19property and private work product of the certified shorthand
20reporter, except that an audio or video recording of a
21certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the presiding
22judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon court order
23for good cause shown and an audio or video recording of a
24certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the board of
25examiners of shorthand reporters upon request by the board if
26a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the certified
27shorthand reporter.
28For purposes of oral evidence in court trials, the bill
29defines the term “open court” to include remote testimony of a
30witness by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means
31approved by the court.
32Under current law, all testimony needs to be taken in open
33court, except for depositions. In the supreme court of Iowa’s
34decision in In re Estate of Rutter, 633 N.W.2d 740 (Iowa 2001),
35the court held the phrase “in open court” meant physical
-7-1presence in the courtroom itself, and ruled that allowing
2telephonic testimony over objection violated the statute.
3ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS. The bill allows
4criminal history data of an accused person to be disseminated
5to the attorney of the accused and self-represented litigants
6without a court order, if the criminal history data is already
7a part of the prosecution’s file and is subject to a discovery
8obligation. The bill also allows criminal history data of an
9accused person, or of a witness, to be disseminated to the
10attorney of the accused, prosecutors, and self-represented
11litigants upon court order.
-8-cm/ns
2mental health advocates, access to and confidentiality of
3juror information, contracting authority, apportionment
4of district associate judges, remote testimony and video
5recordings, and access to criminal history records.
6BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1DIVISION I
2PATIENT ADVOCATES
3 Section 1. Section 229.19, subsection 1, paragraph d,
4subparagraph (7), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows:
5(7) To utilize the related best practices for the duties
6identified in this paragraph “d” developed and promulgated by
7the judicial council.
8DIVISION II
9Jurors — information
10 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 607A.48 Public access to juror
11information.
121. Public access to juror and prospective juror information
13shall be limited. Information on the year of birth and address
14information identifying the city and zip code of prospective
15jurors shall be available to the public. However, more
16specific address information, phone numbers, and the date and
17month of birth of prospective jurors are confidential and not
18subject to disclosure without an order of the court.
192. Notwithstanding subsection 1, attorneys representing
20parties to the case are entitled to the complete juror
21questionnaires of jurors and prospective jurors without order
22of the court.
23DIVISION III
24Contracting authority
25 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 602.1209A State court administrator
26may contractually limit vendor liability.
271. The state court administrator may authorize the
28procurement of goods and services in which a contractual
29limitation of vendor liability is provided for and set forth in
30the documents initiating the procurement.
312. a. The state court administrator shall consider all of
32the following criteria when determining whether to permit a
33contractual limitation of vendor liability with regard to any
34procurement of goods or services:
35(1) Whether authorizing a contractual limitation of vendor
-1-1liability is necessary to prevent harm to the state from
2a failure to obtain the goods or services sought, or from
3obtaining the goods or services at a higher price if the state
4refuses to allow a contractual limitation of vendor liability.
5(2) Whether the contractual limitation of vendor liability
6is commercially reasonable when taking into account any risk to
7the state created by the goods or services to be procured and
8the purpose for which they will be used.
9b. The state court administrator may consider additional
10criteria.
113. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a contractual limitation
12of vendor liability shall not include any limitation on the
13liability of any vendor for intentional torts, criminal acts,
14or fraudulent conduct.
15DIVISION IV
16Apportionment of district Associate Judges
17 Sec. 4. Section 602.6301, Code 2023, is amended to read as
18follows:
19602.6301 Number and apportionment of district associate
20judges.
211. There shall be one district associate judge in counties
22having a population of more than thirty-five thousand and less
23than eighty thousand; two in counties having a population of
24eighty thousand or more and less than one hundred twenty-five
25thousand; three in counties having a population of one
26hundred twenty-five thousand or more and less than one hundred
27seventy thousand; four in counties having a population of one
28hundred seventy thousand or more and less than two hundred
29fifteen thousand; five in counties having a population of two
30hundred fifteen thousand or more and less than two hundred
31sixty thousand; six in counties having a population of two
32hundred sixty thousand or more and less than three hundred
33five thousand; seven in counties having a population of three
34hundred five thousand or more and less than three hundred
35fifty thousand; eight in counties having a population of three
-2-1hundred fifty thousand or more and less than three hundred
2ninety-five thousand; nine in counties having a population of
3three hundred ninety-five thousand or more and less than four
4hundred forty thousand; ten in counties having a population of
5four hundred forty thousand or more and less than four hundred
6eighty-five thousand; and one additional judge for every
7population increment of thirty-five thousand which is over
8four hundred eighty-five thousand in such counties. However,
9a county shall not lose a district associate judgeship solely
10because of a reduction in the county’s population. If the
11formula provided in this section results in the allocation
12of an additional district associate judgeship to a county,
13implementation of the allocation shall be subject to prior
14approval of the supreme court and availability of funds to the
15judicial branch. The supreme court shall prescribe, subject
16to the restrictions of this section, a formula to determine
17the number of district associate judges who will serve in each
18judicial election district. The formula shall be based upon
19a model that measures and applies an estimated case-related
20workload formula of judicial officers, and shall account for
21administrative duties, travel time, and other judicial duties
22not related to a specific case. A district associate judge
23appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not
24be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of
25a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also
26shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
272. For purposes of this section, “vacancy” means the death,
28resignation, retirement, or removal of a district associate
29judge, or the failure of a district associate judge to be
30retained in office at the judicial election, or an increase in
31judgeships under the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
323. In those judicial election districts having more
33district associate judges than the number of judgeships
34specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies
35shall not be filled.
-3- 14. In those judicial election districts having fewer or
2the same number of district associate judges as the number of
3judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1,
4vacancies shall be filled as the vacancies occur.
55. In those judicial districts that contain more than one
6judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election
7district shall not be filled if the total number of district
8associate judges in all judicial election districts within
9the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number
10of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts
11of the judicial district are authorized by the formula in
12subsection 1.
136. An incumbent district associate judge shall not be
14removed from office because of a reduction in the number of
15authorized judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in
16subsection 1.
17DIVISION V
18Remote testimony and video recordings
19 Sec. 5. Section 602.3205, Code 2023, is amended to read as
20follows:
21602.3205 Audio and video recordings.
221. Except as provided in subsection 2 or 3, a certified
23shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely
24for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of
25a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation
26of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal
27property and private work product of the certified shorthand
28reporter.
292. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
30reporter appointed under section 602.6603 shall be provided to
31the presiding judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon
32court order for good cause shown.
333. a. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
34reporter shall be provided to the board upon request by the
35board if a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the
-4-1certified shorthand reporter who is a respondent under the
2provisions of section 602.3203 or the rules of the board of
3examiners of shorthand reporters, Iowa court rules, ch.46.
4b. The audio and video recordings provided to the board
5pursuant to this subsection shall be kept confidential by the
6board in a manner as provided in section 272C.6, subsection 4.
7 Sec. 6. Section 624.1, subsection 1, Code 2023, is amended
8to read as follows:
91. All issues of fact in ordinary actions shall be tried
10upon oral evidence taken in open court, except that depositions
11may be used as provided by law. “Open court” includes remote
12testimony of a witness by telephone, videoconference, or other
13remote means of communication approved by the court.
14DIVISION VI
15Access to criminal history records
16 Sec. 7. Section 692.2, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended
17to read as follows:
185. A person other than the department of public safety
19shall not disseminate criminal history data maintained by the
20department to persons who are not criminal or juvenile justice
21agencies, except as set forth in section 692.3.
22 Sec. 8. Section 692.3, subsection 3, Code 2023, is amended
23to read as follows:
243. The information described in this section subsections
251 and 2 may be redisseminated through any written, audio, or
26visual means utilized by a criminal or juvenile justice agency.
27 Sec. 9. Section 692.3, Code 2023, is amended by adding the
28following new subsections:
29 NEW SUBSECTION. 4. A person may disseminate criminal
30history data of an accused to the attorney of the accused and
31to self-represented litigants in a pending criminal matter
32in district or juvenile court, if the criminal history data
33is already part of the prosecution’s file and subject to a
34discovery obligation.
35 NEW SUBSECTION. 5. Upon order of the court, a person may
-5-1disseminate criminal history data of an accused that is not
2already part of the prosecution’s file, or criminal history
3data of a witness, to the attorney of the accused, prosecutors,
4and to self-represented litigants in a pending criminal matter
5in district or juvenile court.
6EXPLANATION
7The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
8the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
9This bill relates to judicial branch administration.
10PATIENT ADVOCATES. The bill removes the requirement that
11the judicial council develop and promulgate best practices for
12court-assigned advocates of persons with mental illness. Under
13the bill, such advocates may use any best practices for their
14duties.
15JURORS — INFORMATION. The bill provides that prospective
16juror year of birth and city and zip code address information
17is available to the public but that more specific address
18information, phone numbers, and date and month of birth are
19confidential and are not subject to disclosure without an order
20of the court. Attorneys representing parties to the case
21are entitled to complete juror questionnaires of jurors and
22prospective jurors without court order.
23CONTRACTING AUTHORITY. The bill allows the state court
24administrator to enter into contracts with vendors that include
25limitations of liability for the vendors, after considering
26certain criteria set forth in the bill. However, the bill
27prohibits limitations of liability for any intentional torts,
28criminal acts, or fraudulent conduct by the vendor.
29APPORTIONMENT OF DISTRICT ASSOCIATE JUDGES. The bill
30provides for a new formula to be prescribed by the Iowa supreme
31court for apportioning district associate judges based upon
32a weighted workload. Under current law, district associate
33judges are apportioned based upon county population.
34The bill provides that in judicial election districts
35that currently have more district associate judges than the
-6-1new formula prescribes, vacancies shall not be filled, while
2districts having fewer or the same shall fill vacancies as
3they occur. In judicial districts that contain more than one
4judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election
5district shall not be filled if the total number of district
6associate judges in all judicial election districts within
7the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number
8of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts
9of the judicial district are authorized. Incumbents shall
10not be removed because of a reduction in number of authorized
11judgeships.
12REMOTE TESTIMONY AND VIDEO RECORDINGS. The bill adds video
13recordings to Code section 602.3205 (certified shorthand
14reporter audio recordings). The bill provides that a certified
15shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely
16for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of
17a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation
18of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal
19property and private work product of the certified shorthand
20reporter, except that an audio or video recording of a
21certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the presiding
22judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon court order
23for good cause shown and an audio or video recording of a
24certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the board of
25examiners of shorthand reporters upon request by the board if
26a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the certified
27shorthand reporter.
28For purposes of oral evidence in court trials, the bill
29defines the term “open court” to include remote testimony of a
30witness by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means
31approved by the court.
32Under current law, all testimony needs to be taken in open
33court, except for depositions. In the supreme court of Iowa’s
34decision in In re Estate of Rutter, 633 N.W.2d 740 (Iowa 2001),
35the court held the phrase “in open court” meant physical
-7-1presence in the courtroom itself, and ruled that allowing
2telephonic testimony over objection violated the statute.
3ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS. The bill allows
4criminal history data of an accused person to be disseminated
5to the attorney of the accused and self-represented litigants
6without a court order, if the criminal history data is already
7a part of the prosecution’s file and is subject to a discovery
8obligation. The bill also allows criminal history data of an
9accused person, or of a witness, to be disseminated to the
10attorney of the accused, prosecutors, and self-represented
11litigants upon court order.
-8-cm/ns