State v. Hellstern
Annotate this CaseAfter he was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI), Defendant sought legal advice regarding whether to submit to a chemical breath test during a teleconference with a lawyer. Defendant asked for privacy during the call, but rather than tell Defendant that private, in-person attorney-client consultations were permitted at the jail, the arresting officer simply told Defendant that he could not consult confidentially with his lawyer while “on the phone.” Defendant subsequently took the Breathalyzer test. The district court denied Defendant’s motion to suppress the breath test results and convicted him of OWI. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding (1) Defendant adequately invoked his statutory right to a confidential attorney-client consultation under Iowa Code 804.20, and therefore, the officer was required under the statute to inform Defendant that his attorney must come to the jail for a confidential conference; and (2) the remedy for such a violation of section 804.20 rights is suppression of the chemical test evidence.
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