By B John Burns
March 4, 2010

I saw in this morning’s Des Moines Register that retired Iowa Court of Appeals  Judge Dick Schlegel passed away on Monday at the age of 87.  That’s a name I hadn’t thought about for awhile.  

And that’s not right, because Judge Schlegel is someone who deserves to be remembered.

I can’t remember if, back in the days I practiced in front of Judge Schlegel, I was aware that he had been a fighter pilot in Europe during the Second World War.  But that’s the place to start.  Every day, in the Register obits, you’ll see the names of one or two or three members of  that diminishing fraternity of superheroes who left their homes as children in the early- to mid-40s and, literally, saved the World.  And when the War was over, they came home, raised families and thrived in their careers.

That was Judge Schlegel.

Judge Schlegel had a variety of careers in the years that followed.  He kept flying.  Judge Schlegel was famous for flying himself to court hearings, earning the label (according to the Register) of “The Flying Judge.”  He sat on the Ottumwa School Board, the Indian Hills Community College Board of Directors and, for 13 years, on the Board of Directors of the Iowa Association of School Boards (he was president in the mid-60s).

By B John Burns
February 26, 2010

Ruthann Veal is not home free yet, despite what you may hear on the local news today or read in the papers.  But her victory today in the Supreme Court is a very useful one, nevertheless.

Ruthann was convicted in 1995 of a murder she committed when she was 14 years old, and sentenced to life imprisonment.  After the United States Supreme Court held in 2005 in Roper v. Simmons that capital punishment for individuals who commit their offenses before 18 violates the Eight Amendment, Ms. Veal filed a postconviction relief petition, alleging that the same principles should apply to a life sentence.  

At every level, her petition was dismissed as untimely under the one-year limitation of Iowa Code § 822.3.   Represented by Phil Mears of Iowa City and attorneys of the Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama, Ms. Veal argued that the limitation should not apply, as she was basing her claim for relief on a recent change in the law.

Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Appel took the argument one step further.  A sentence that violates the Eighth Amendment is an illegal sentence, that can be corrected at any time.  Iowa R. Crim.P 2.24(5)(a).  The question is whether the rule of criminal procedure trumps the civil limitation imposed in Chapter 822.

Justice Appel found that it does.  That’s the holding of the Veal v. Iowa.  Nice work, Phil.

***

Bryan A. Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative spoke at the Public Defender's Conference in Iowa City in 2006

NPR News

The U.S. criminal justice system typically pits defense lawyers against government prosecutors. Now, defense lawyers who represent poor clients are about to get some major help from their usual adversaries.

The Justice Department is on the verge of launching a new program to help low-income people receive legal help. It's called the Access to Justice initiative, and one of the top constitutional lawyers in the country is taking a leave of absence from Harvard to spearhead the project.

Although there has been no official announcement, a Justice spokesperson has confirmed the plans.

Professor Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law will begin work in Washington next week as senior counselor for Access to Justice. He will coordinate with judges and lawyers across the country with the goal of finding ways to help people who cannot afford a lawyer — a circumstance known in legal terms as indigent defense.