Drake Children's Rights Clinic Delivers Oral Arguments to Iowa Supreme Court
Law clerk Taylor Thomas, as a part of the Drake University Law School Children’s Rights Clinic Team, brought a case before the Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 10, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa.
In the case of K.C. v. Iowa District Court for Polk County (Case No. 23-0214), K.C. seeks further review after the Juvenile Court granted a Motion for Expert Assistance at State’s Expense to aid him in his defense against waiver to adult court. In the juvenile court’s order, the court established a maximum reimbursement amount that was $3,400 lower than what was requested. K.C. contends that the juvenile court abused its discretion by (1) failing to use a test for determining an expert witness’s fees that accounted for the “constitutional rights implicated by expert assistance and the special nature of juvenile proceedings”, and (2) failing to give reasons for significantly capping the fee.
The Iowa Supreme Court has received oral argument in the case and it is now considered to be fully submitted to the Court.
Taylor has been with the firm since summer of 2022 and will be an associate attorney upon passage of the bar in the fall of 2024.