Iowa v. Bailey
Annotate this CaseIn the Supreme Court of Iowa, the State of Iowa appealed against the district court's dismissal of an extortion charge against Jerome Bailey Sr. Bailey had demanded $10,000 from his former property manager, threatening to expose her for allegedly sending a registered sex offender to his house, which he claimed was a childcare facility. The district court dismissed the charge, concluding that Bailey's threats were made with the reasonable belief that he had a right to make them under Iowa's extortion statute. However, the Supreme Court of Iowa reversed the district court's decision and remanded the case for further proceedings. The court reasoned that the statutory defense in the extortion statute, which allows threats made with a reasonable belief of a right to make them, does not apply automatically at the motion to dismiss stage if there are disputed facts. The court found that whether Bailey had a reasonable belief that he could demand $10,000 for the alleged misconduct was a question for a jury to decide, not a matter for dismissal.
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