State of Iowa v. Derek Michael White

Summary

The court held that article I, section 10 of the Iowa Constitution guarantees face-to-face confrontation requiring trial witnesses and the accused to be able to see one another. Because White’s child witnesses testified through a one-way closed-circuit system that prevented them from seeing him, the procedure violated his confrontation right, and the State failed to prove the violation harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The court reversed White’s convictions and remanded for a new trial while affirming the sufficiency of the evidence.