14 Comments

Dave I agree 100% about your Brenna Bird comment.

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Thanks, Becky. A certain justice I’m thinking of would have never allowed this awful ruling.

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You are such a bright man...I totally agree with your comments about Brenna Bird. Totally.

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👍

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100% on every word you wrote about Brenna Bird.

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What does it mean to:"confront a witness?"

What do you mean by "outrageous?" Show your work.

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Tom, I wrote about witnesses being required to confront their alleged abuser while in the same room. The linked story on that sentence should provide you more information.

The "outrageous" comment is mine - my opinion. I think it's perfectly acceptable to have a child witness testify over video from an adjoining room. I think the court forcing kids to be a few feet away from the person who is alleged to have assaulted them outrageous. You're free to disagree!

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Dave, thank you. I appreciate awarding praise when it is due. This was a terrible ruling, it’s just a shame it will take so long to fix.

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I tried to think if there’s a faster way, but the majority based its ruling on verbiage in the Iowa constitution, so this likely is the only path.

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I was ignorant about all of this. I appreciate having learned about this via your reporting. I’m recently divorced from a spouse who abused alcohol and was emotionally abusive. Once I finally left, I’ve never seen or met with him again. In divorce mediation, I made sure my back was to the door as he walked in. I cannot imagine making children be in the same room as an abuser.

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Joan, I’m sorry to hear that. I cannot imagine. You’ve highlighted exactly what’s wrong with this ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court. I’m glad you’re aware of it now.

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I was surprised and pleased to see our AG promote lawmaking that would address a real issue that hurts Iowans, face it, that's outside her lane. But I still wonder where the poison pill is hidden...

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A skeptic after my own heart!

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I had the same reaction - I wondered what I was missing. Based on many of her actions, preventing cruelty doesn’t seem to be high on her list of priorities for Iowans. I’ll remain cautiously optimistic on this one, and keep one eyebrow raised.

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