Vanhemert Denied Immunity, Trial Date Confirmed

Luke Vanhemert (Mahaska County Jail Photo)

Luke Vanhemert (Mahaska County Jail Photo)

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Luke Vanhemert will stand trial as charged, after a Judge ruled Tuesday morning, March 26, that he has no immunity from prosecution. After a hearing before Judge Lucy Gamon, Vanhemert’s claim that he is immune from prosecution of second-degree murder, under Iowa’s Stand Your Ground Law, was denied.

On March 14, Vanhemert’s attorney, public defender Allen Cook, filed a motion to enforce immunity, alleging, among other things, that Vanhemert was simply defending himself against bodily harm on March 1, 2018, when he stabbed William Penn University student Marquis Todd to death. Cook also claimed that Iowa’s Stand Your Ground law reads very similar to Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, which allows for immunity from prosecution. Judge Lucy Gamon disagreed with Cook’s claims about the intent of the law.

“The Florida statute specifically provides that a person who uses justifiable force in self-defense is “immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use or threatened use of such force. . .” Fla. Code § 776.032(1). By contrast, the Iowa statute provides that a person is “immune from criminal or civil liability for all damages incurred by the aggressor pursuant to the application of reasonable force.” Immunity from a claim for damages is very different from prosecutorial immunity,” Gamon wrote.

Cook also alleged that Iowa’s Stand Your Ground law requires that a hearing be held to determine if the evidence from the case establishes that Vanhemert can claim immunity, again citing Florida’s law. Gamon again disagreed.

“By contrast, no statute or rule of procedure provides for a pretrial evidentiary immunity hearing in the State of Iowa. Were the Court to hold such a hearing, it is not even clear what the legal standard should be: “preponderance of the evidence,” “clear and convincing,” or some other standard,” Gamon wrote.

Gamon ruled that if such a hearing was required, that would have been specified by the State Legislature when the law was originally passed.

“As the State has argued, if the Iowa legislature had intended to provide the right to a pretrial immunity hearing, it would have clearly done so, as the Florida legislature did,” Gamon wrote. “The Iowa statute provides no mechanisms or procedures or legal standards for a pretrial hearing on the issue of immunity, and the Court, therefore, determines that no such hearing is allowed,” she added.

In a pre-trial order filed after the hearing on Vanhemert’s immunity motion, Gamon confirmed the date for Vahemert’s trial. Trial is set to begin with jury selection on April 9, at 9 am, in the Mahaska County Courthouse. His trial is set to take five days. Additionally, a hearing on all outstanding motions will be held on April 5 at the Mahaska County Courthouse.

A criminal charge is merely a criminal charge and not an indication of guilt. All suspects should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Posted by on Mar 26 2019. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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