Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court is considering a Sioux City case involving the right to talk to a lawyer when you are taken into custody.
The case involves Faron Starr who was taken into custody in 2022 after a stabbing and the alleged theft of guns in a separate break-in. The district court ruled his confession was inadmissible after police refused to let him make a call during questioning. During oral arguments before the Supreme Court Monday evening, prosecutor Thomas Ogden told the justices officers didn’t allow Starr’s call as the guns were missing.
He says there are exceptions for such instances. Chief Justice Susan Christensen asked how this case was different from other cases.
He says they didn’t know if the guns were left where a child or someone else could get them. Starr’s Attorney Lucas Taylor says his client’s rights were violated.
Taylor says it was six hours before Starr was apprehended. He says there is a very narrow public safety exception, and cited an example of where the exception might be used.
Starr pled not guilty and the case is pending a ruling by the Supreme Court. The justices will consider the oral arguments and make a ruling at a later day. Starr is currently in jail on an unrelated murder charge.
