Modification And Weight Of Victim Input

After the Petition to Modify is filed by your attorney, the County Attorney, in the county where the case happened, is required by the Iowa Code to notify the victim about the modification request. Years ago, before the Fortune case, the victim’s input (appearing personally; by letter; by an advocate; and/or by family) carried a lot of weight; compared to now, where the only question is if you are a present danger to the community (assuming all the other qualifying conditions are satisfied, such as being on the Registry long enough etc.). However, in Walker v. State, No. 23-1480 (Iowa Ct. App. 2024), the Iowa Court of Appeals overruled the Judge for improperly giving too much weight to the victim testimony, again referring the Court back to Fortune v. State. Now, the only permissible factors the judge may consider are facts which deal directly with the risk of reoffending, and present danger or threat to public safety.

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