Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Iowa FOI Council challenges closure of Henry County deputy’s Brady-Giglio hearing
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT — The Iowa Freedom of Information Council has moved to unseal records from a closed Henry County hearing on Deputy Carlos Lopez’s effort to be removed from the Brady-Giglio list, arguing the public had a right to attend.
The council filed the motion Sept. 24, seeking to intervene in the case and contest the court’s Aug. 26 decision to hold the proceeding in private and seal all exhibits.
The group said the court “conduct[ed] this trial completely in secret” and that the order “violates the public’s right of access to courts and records under the First Amendment and the Iowa Constitution.”
Lopez, a Henry County sheriff’s deputy, was added to the Brady-Giglio list last year by County Attorney Darin Stater after a 2023 search of the home of Curtis and Lori Wagler, who own the small business Outdoor Tradition. The Waglers later sued Lopez and Sheriff Rich McNamee, alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution, and assault. Their federal case, which remains open to the public, is set for trial in 2027.
Court filings in that civil case allege that Lopez and other officers “ransacked” the Waglers’ home during a search for financial records, left the house in disarray, and subjected Curtis Wagler to two body-cavity searches. The couple and their adult son were each charged with 10 felonies.
Stater dismissed all of those charges in November 2023, writing that Lopez had filed no report supporting the accusations and had submitted “at least one … affidavit [that] contains a false statement.”
Weeks later, Stater placed Lopez on the Brady-Giglio list, which identifies officers with credibility or candor issues that may affect their testimony in court. Lopez is the only officer in Henry County currently on the list.
Lopez filed a petition in December 2024 seeking review of his placement under a 2024 Iowa law, Iowa Code § 80F.1 (25). The statute allows law enforcement officers to ask a judge to review a prosecutor’s decision to include them on a Brady-Giglio list and authorizes the court to hold the hearing in private “upon the request of the officer or prosecuting agency.”
Before the August hearing, the court heard arguments on a motion by Stater to dismiss Lopez’s petition. That proceeding was held virtually.
Stater argued the court lacked authority to review the county attorney’s decision to place Lopez on the Brady-Giglio list, while Gribble maintained that the 2024 state law gave officers the right to seek such a review. Judge Thomas Reidel denied the motion, allowing Lopez’s challenge to proceed to trial.
Unlike the earlier motion-to-dismiss hearing, which was open to the media, the August trial was closed to the public under a 2024 Iowa law that allows either party to request a private hearing when a Brady-Giglio listing is challenged.
At the Aug. 26 hearing, both Stater and Lopez’s attorney, Charles Gribble, asked that the courtroom be closed. Stater urged the entire proceeding be sealed and cited the new state law, which permits either party to request a closed hearing. Gribble countered that the public should be allowed to attend the opening and closing statements, but Judge Reidel ultimately sided with Stater and closed the proceeding in its entirety.
Supporters, including Lopez’s wife Beth, waited outside the courtroom during the hearing.
The Iowa Freedom of Information Council argues that the court failed to make the findings required by the U.S. and Iowa constitutions to justify such a closure.
“No such findings were made,” the council wrote in its motion. “Nor does it appear they could be.”
The group’s filing cites long-standing U.S. Supreme Court rulings affirming the public’s right to attend court proceedings, including Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia and Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, and Iowa cases such as Des Moines Register & Tribune Co. v. District Court of Story County. The council contends that Iowa Code § 80F.1 (25), as applied, “reverses the presumption of openness” that governs court proceedings and is unconstitutional when used to automatically seal records.
The council’s motion asks the court to grant it intervention, allow it to be heard on the record, and unseal the hearing transcript and exhibits.
The court has not yet ruled on the council’s request or on Lopez’s petition challenging his inclusion on the Brady-Giglio list.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
