The chief deputy in an Iowa county was investigated by the Iowa division of criminal investigation. The paper says he faces allegations of sexual misconduct. He was placed on paid administrative leave at the beginning of the investigation and was fired shortly after the investigation started. It says in the paper that the county DA will decide in a few weeks if he will be charged with a crime. I understand from a reliable source that it involves a 14 year old girl. Does it seem right that the DA who works with the sheriff's office has the power to put an end to the embarrassment that these charges would bring? Shouldn't the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation decide if charges should be brought? They obviously had enough on the chief deputy to fire him before the investigation was even completed. Thanks for your input.

The Division of Criminal Investigation are just basically state police, police officers do not have the right or authority to "file charges" this is always a district attorneys duty, The state district attorney office could assign a special DA for this but no, the county DA should be the one to do it, since it is a crime within their jurisdiction. This is how the legal system works.

The law is structured so that no one person has absolute power.

The police are the ones who investigate the crimes.

The DA's are the one's who decided if the case is worth prosecuting.

The Judge makes sure the DA's has evidence to go ahead with a case.

The Court of Appeal monitor the Judge's actions, etc.


I am not going to pretend I have a thorough understanding of the theory of law, but that is somewhat how my Professor explained it all to me.

This way, no one body can act as investigator, prosecutor, jury and executioner.

By having the Division of Criminal Investigation investigate, they then pass their findings to the DA, who determines whether there is evidence for a case. Then, the Judge will look over the DA's decision (assuming the DA files charges).

Prosecuting someone is the DA's job. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation may have had the power to fire him and may have the power to bring him up on charges but it's the DA's responsibility to pursue those charges.