State Public Defender v. Iowa District Court For Scott County

Summary

The court sustained the State Public Defender’s certiorari writ and vacated orders refusing to accept the Davenport local public defender’s return of six criminal cases. It held that the district court has a limited role in determining whether the statutory precondition of a temporary overload is met, but must defer to a local public defender’s professional representation absent reason to doubt it. The court also held that replacement-counsel availability does not affect whether a case may be returned, and that the local public defender remains responsible for representation until the court accepts the return.