Part Time County Attorney Conflict of Interest Prompts New Trial

State v. Casey, no. 08-0318 (Iowa Ct. App. Feb. 4, 2008)

Robin Casey was charged in Wayne County with six counts of forgery, and Wayne County attorney Alan Wilson filed the trial information and minutes.  Six checks belonging to Casey's employer had gone missing and each of them wqs made out to Casey and cashed.

Some time after that the Corydon State Bank filed a small claims action against Casey, and Wilson, acting on behalf of the bank applied for an order for a debtor's examination in that case. She never appeared.

At trial on the forgery charges Casey was found guilty, and her attorney moved for a new trial based on the obvious conflict of interest inherent in Wilson representing the state in criminal litigation and the bank in civil litigation against the same defendant.

The district court granted a new trial and the court of appeals affirmed.