Iowa Accidents

FAQ Glossary Guides Writers

English Espanol

Search results for “DUI charges”

20 results

sentencing guidelines DUI

Rules and typical penalty ranges a judge uses after a drunk-driving conviction. "Sentencing guidelines" means the framework for punishment: what penalties are allowed, what...

preliminary hearing

The part that trips people up most is that a preliminary hearing is not a trial, and many DUI or OWI cases never reach one at all. It is an early court proceeding where a judge...

felony vs misdemeanor

You'll usually see this in a charging document, police paperwork, a court notice, or a lawyer's quick explanation: the case is being filed as a misdemeanor or a felony. That...

Second busted-up shoulder in Dubuque, and now a crosswalk apparently needs a seatbelt?

A Dubuque construction worker hit in a crosswalk may hear all kinds of garbage from insurance, including blame that makes no sense, even when the driver is facing criminal charges.

ARTICLE by Angela Washington

Iowa Dog Bite Claim and Landlord Liability

Iowa does not give dog owners one free bite, and a landlord usually is not automatically on the hook just because they knew the dog was a problem.

ARTICLE by Angela Washington

Everybody wants a cut of your crash settlement in Waterloo

A Waterloo farm worker on a motorcycle gets rear-ended at a light, the city points at the road defect, and the money fight turns into who grabs the settlement first.

ARTICLE by Keith Haroldson

statute of limitations for criminal charges

You just got a letter that says prosecutors are reviewing an old case, and one of the first questions is whether they are still allowed to file charges at all. A statute of...

my car disappeared in a dust storm near Cedar Rapids and now everyone wants proof

After a highway dust storm crash near Cedar Rapids, the evidence disappears fast, and that matters even more when a health insurer starts claiming your whole settlement.

ARTICLE by Gary Johannsen

Miss this one, and a bad stop turns into handcuffs, a car search, a jail booking, and charges built on evidence you may never have let police near if you knew your rights....

What does a Waterloo truck accident lawyer cost in Iowa?

In Iowa, serious truck crash cases often settle in the tens of thousands to several hundred thousand dollars, and the biggest verdicts can go much higher. What a lawyer costs...

Miss this early court appearance, or walk in thinking it is just paperwork, and the damage can be immediate: a judge may set money bail you cannot afford, impose strict release...

double jeopardy

Can the government try someone twice for the same offense? Usually, no. Double jeopardy is the constitutional protection that bars the government from prosecuting or punishing...

Like haggling over the final price before you walk out of a store, a plea bargain is a negotiated deal: the accused agrees to plead guilty, or sometimes no contest where...

indictment vs information

Am I being formally charged by a grand jury, or did the prosecutor file the case another way? That is the difference between an indictment and an information. Both are formal...

conditional discharge

Can I keep this off my record if I do everything the court orders? A conditional discharge is a court outcome that lets a person avoid a final conviction or a harsher sentence...

Eight months after an Iowa City shoulder crash, your Instagram can still blow up the claim

A pregnant Iowa City business owner got rear-ended on the highway shoulder, can't work normally, and now the trucking insurer is using social media to argue she and the baby are fine.

ARTICLE by Wayne Recker

The difference can determine whether a person gets out of jail quickly, how much cash is tied up, and whether missing court creates a larger financial loss. In practice, the...

You'll usually see it in a court notice, charging papers, or hear, "Your arraignment is set for next week." That is the first formal court appearance where a judge tells the...

guilty plea vs no contest

Get this wrong, and a quick decision in criminal court can follow someone into a civil case, a job problem, or an insurance fight. A guilty plea is a direct admission of the...

Not the same thing as a trial jury, and not a group that decides whether someone is guilty. A grand jury is a panel of citizens asked to review evidence presented by a...