Iowa Code 135.109 – Iowa domestic abuse death review team membership
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
1. An Iowa domestic abuse death review team is established in the department.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 135.109
- Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
- clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Department: means the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. See Iowa Code 154A.1
- Department: means the department of health and human services. See Iowa Code 135.108
- Director: means the director of health and human services. See Iowa Code 135.108
- Domestic abuse death: means a homicide or suicide that involves or is a result of an assault as defined in section 708. See Iowa Code 135.108
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Judicial officer: means a supreme court justice, a judge of the court of appeals, a district judge, a district associate judge, an associate juvenile judge, an associate probate judge, or a magistrate. See Iowa Code 4.1
- State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Iowa Code 152E.3
- Team: means the domestic abuse death review team established in section 135. See Iowa Code 135.108
2. The department shall provide staffing and administrative support to the team.
3. The team shall include the following members:
a. The state medical examiner or the state medical examiner’s designee.
b. A licensed physician, physician assistant, or nurse who is knowledgeable concerning domestic abuse injuries and deaths, including suicides.
c. A licensed mental health professional who is knowledgeable concerning domestic abuse.
d. A representative or designee of the Iowa coalition against domestic violence.
e. A certified or licensed professional who is knowledgeable concerning substance use disorder.
f. A law enforcement official who is knowledgeable concerning domestic abuse.
g. A law enforcement investigator experienced in domestic abuse investigation.
h. An attorney experienced in prosecuting domestic abuse cases.
i. A judicial officer appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court.
j. A clerk of the district court appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court.
k. An employee or subcontractor of the department of corrections who is a trained batterers’ education program facilitator.
l. An attorney licensed in this state who provides criminal defense assistance or child custody representation, and who has experience in dissolution of marriage proceedings.
m. Both a female and a male victim of domestic abuse.
n. A family member of a decedent whose death resulted from domestic abuse.
4. The following individuals shall each designate a liaison to assist the team in fulfilling the team’s duties:
a. The attorney general.
b. The director of the Iowa department of corrections.
c. The director of health and human services.
d. The commissioner of public safety.
e. The director of the department of education.
f. The state court administrator.
g. The director of the state law enforcement academy.
5. a. The director, in consultation with the attorney general, shall appoint review team members who are not designated by another appointing authority.
b. A membership vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
c. The membership of the review team is subject to the provisions of sections 69.16 and 69.16A, relating to political affiliation and gender balance.
d. A member of the team may be reappointed to serve additional terms on the team, subject to the provisions of chapter 69.
6. Membership terms shall be three-year staggered terms.
7. Members of the team are eligible for reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.
8. Team members and their agents are immune from any liability, civil or criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of any act, omission, proceeding, decision, or determination undertaken or performed, or recommendation made as a team member or agent provided that the team members or agents acted reasonably and in good faith and without malice in carrying out their official duties in their official capacity. A complainant bears the burden of proof in establishing malice or unreasonableness or lack of good faith in an action brought against team members involving the performance of their duties and powers.