Iowa Code § 701.1
Short title
Chapters 701 through 728 shall be known and may be cited as the “Iowa Criminal Code”.
Iowa Code Chapter 701 — General Criminal Law Provisions
Iowa · statute · Iowa Code ch. 701 · 13 active provisions
Iowa Code § 701.2
Public offense
A public offense is that which is prohibited by statute and is punishable by fine or imprisonment.
Iowa Code § 701.3
Presumption of innocence
Every person is presumed innocent until proved guilty. No person shall be convicted of any offense unless the person’s guilt thereof is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Iowa Code § 701.4
Insanity
A person shall not be convicted of a crime if at the time the crime is committed the person suffers from such a diseased or deranged condition of the mind as to render the person incapable of knowing the nature and quality of the act the person is committing or incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong in rel…
Iowa Code § 701.5
Intoxicants or drugs
The fact that a person is under the influence of intoxicants or drugs neither excuses the person’s act nor aggravates the person’s guilt, but may be shown where it is relevant in proving the person’s specific intent or recklessness at the time of the person’s alleged criminal act or in proving any element of the public…
Iowa Code § 701.6
Ignorance or mistake
All persons are presumed to know the law. Evidence of an accused person’s ignorance or mistake as to a matter of either fact or law shall be admissible in any case where it shall tend to prove the existence or nonexistence of some element of the crime with which the person is charged.
Iowa Code § 701.7
Felony defined and classified
A public offense is a felony of a particular class when the statute defining the crime declares it to be a felony. Felonies are class “A” felonies, class “B” felonies, class “C” felonies, and class “D” felonies. Where the statute defining the offense declares it to be a felony but does not state what class of felony it…
Iowa Code § 701.8
Misdemeanor defined and classified
All public offenses which are not felonies are misdemeanors. Misdemeanors are aggravated misdemeanors, serious misdemeanors, or simple misdemeanors. Where an act is declared to be a public offense, crime or misdemeanor, but no other designation is given, such act shall be a simple misdemeanor.
Iowa Code § 701.9
Merger of lesser included offenses
No person shall be convicted of a public offense which is necessarily included in another public offense of which the person is convicted. If the jury returns a verdict of guilty of more than one offense and such verdict conflicts with this section, the court shall enter judgment of guilty of the greater of the offense…
Iowa Code § 701.10
Civil remedies preserved
The fact that one may be subjected to a criminal prosecution in no way limits the right which anyone may have to a civil remedy.
Iowa Code § 701.11
Evidence of similar offenses — sexual abuse
1. In a criminal prosecution in which a defendant has been charged with sexual abuse, evidence of the defendant’s commission of another sexual abuse is admissible and may be considered for its bearing on any matter for which the evidence is relevant. This evidence, though relevant, may be excluded if the probative valu…
Iowa Code § 701.12
Persons under the age of twenty-one seeking emergency assistance for overdose immunity
1. A person under the age of twenty-one years shall not be charged or prosecuted for the violation of any of the following offenses if the evidence for the charge was obtained as a result of the person in good faith seeking emergency medical assistance for the person or another person due to an alcohol overdose: a. Sec…
Iowa Code § 701.13
Depositions before indictment
A person expecting to be made a party to a criminal prosecution shall not be entitled to conduct a deposition in the criminal proceeding prior to the person being indicted for a criminal offense.