Iowa Code » Chapter 701 — GENERAL CRIMINAL LAW PROVISIONS
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 701.9 (2026)

Merger of lesser included offenses

✓ current as of July 2026
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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 offenses only. [C79, 81, §701.9] See R.Cr.P. 2.6(1)\n\n 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. [C79, 81, §701.10]

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 148 cases (32 in the last 5 years), 1978–2026 · leading case: State of Iowa v. Travis Raymond Wayne West, 924 N.W.2d 502 (Iowa 2019).
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State of Iowa v. Travis Raymond Wayne West, 924 N.W.2d 502 (Iowa 2019). · cites it 40× “Iowa Code § 701.9 . The key question under the statute is when a public offense is "necessarily included in another public offense.”
State v. Rodriquez, 636 N.W.2d 234 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 16× “Iowa Code § 701.9 . This court has recently stated the legal principles applicable to application of the merger doctrine: *247 In determining whether a lesser offense is included in a greater one, we look to the elements of each and determine if the greater offense can be…”
State v. Reed, 618 N.W.2d 327 (Iowa 2000). · cites it 40× “Finally, he contends the court should have merged the sentence for these convictions pursuant to Iowa Code section 701.9. We affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings.”
State v. Daniels, 588 N.W.2d 682 (Iowa 1998). · cites it 40× “He complains he has been punished twice for the same offense, in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States Constitution and Iowa's merger statute.”
State v. Lambert, 612 N.W.2d 810 (Iowa 2000). · cites it 28× “Lambert asserts this punishment was in violation of Iowa Code section 701.9, which provides: No person shall be convicted of a public offense which is necessarily included in another public offense of which the person is convicted.”
State v. Halliburton, 539 N.W.2d 339 (Iowa 1995). · cites it 14× “evidence obtained in four searches of his mother’s car should have been suppressed because the searches violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution; and (2) his convictions and sentences for both crimes…”
State v. Bullock, 638 N.W.2d 728 (Iowa 2002). · cites it 14× “At sentencing, the court, over the State’s objection, ruled that the defendant’s convictions should be merged pursuant to Iowa Code section 701.9. The district court concluded that second-degree sexual abuse was a lesser-included offense of first-degree burglary.”
State of Iowa v. Jillian Jane Stewart, 858 N.W.2d 17 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 18× “She claimed the district court entered an illegal sentence because the offenses of introduction and possession merged into a single offense under Iowa Code section 701.9. She also asserted the district court erred in assessing court costs for a charge which was dismissed by the…”
State v. Hickman, 623 N.W.2d 847 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 12× “Iowa Code § 701.9 . The issue of whether, under the statute, willful injury is “necessarily included” in first-degree robbery is the principal issue on appeal.”
State v. Jeffries, 430 N.W.2d 728 (Iowa 1988). · cites it 8× “The strict statutory-elements approach is embodied in Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 21(3) and in Iowa Code section 701.9 (1985). Rule 21(3) provides: Upon trial of an offense consisting of different degrees, the jury may find the defendant not guilty of the degree charged in…”
State of Iowa v. Joseph D. Ceretti, 871 N.W.2d 88 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 9× “See Iowa Code § 701.9 (“No person shall be convicted of a public offense which is necessarily included in another public offense of which the person is convicted.”
State v. Mulvany, 600 N.W.2d 291 (Iowa 1999). · cites it 14× “Iowa Code § 701.9 ; see also Iowa R.Crim.”
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