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Trials will cost Chickasaw County more money

By Mira Schmitt-Cash, New Hampton Tribune

Chickasaw County Attorney Jennifer Schwickerath told the Board of Supervisors this week that she will need to amend her budget because of the cost for upcoming trials, including one involving the death of an Alta Vista baby last year.

In addition to the trials of Cheyanne Harris and Zachary Koehn, who have been charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment, Schwickerath said, “Unfortunately we also have a number of serious sexual abuse cases pending.”

Jennifer Schwickerath
Jennifer Schwickerath

In the County Attorney’s Office current budget she had allocated $3,000 for expert witnesses for the Alta Vista matter, which hasn’t gone to trial yet; however she said that isn’t going to be sufficient.

“For one of the trials, it’s looking like a $20,000 to $25,000 range,” Schwickerath said. “For now both those matters are pending. I have no idea once the (first) gets tried if that’s going to change things or not.”

“I will be asking for a budget amendment to reflect those changes,” Schwickerath said.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office advised her, if she needs them, to get the best people she can. “Hopefully you’d agree with me on that,” she told the board.

Schwickerath said that since Jan. 1, her office has filed 109 trial information documents that would charge one or more indictable offenses, anything above a simple misdemeanor.

The office has filed on 152 indictable offenses altogether, including 23 felony offenses.

Seventy simple misdemeanor cases have been filed in magistrate court since Jan. 1.

Almost 900 documents have been filed on the state court’s electronic system since the first of the year.

 

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