1. When a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a person is a necessary and material witness to a felony and that such person might be unavailable for service of a subpoena, the officer may arrest such person as a material witness with or without an arrest warrant.
2. At the time of the arrest, the law enforcement officer shall inform the person of:
a. The officer’s identity as a law enforcement officer.\n\nTue Dec 09 21:54:27 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 804 (31, 0) 5 COMMENCEMENT OF ACTIONS — ARREST — DISPOSITIONS OF PRISONERS, §804.16\n\n b. The reason for the arrest which is that the person is believed to be a material witness to an identified felony and that the person might be unavailable for service of a subpoena. [C51, §2876 – 2879; R60, §4601 – 4604; C73, §4248 – 4251; C97, §5232 – 5235; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §13547 – 13550; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §761.21 – 761.24; C79, 81, §804.11] 2013 Acts, ch 90, §239 Referred to in §804.23 Fees to material witnesses, §815.6 \n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
11
cases (
4 in the last 5 years), 1989–2026 · leading case:
State v. Hernandez-Lopez, 639 N.W.2d 226 (Iowa 2002).
State v. Hernandez-Lopez, 639 N.W.2d 226 (Iowa 2002).
· cites it 54× “See Iowa Code § 804.11 (1999). Although the issues in this appeal are technically moot, we address a portion of the challenge to the constitutionality of the statute because it is likely to recur yet evade appellate review.”
State v. Enderle, 745 N.W.2d 438 (Iowa 2007).
· cites it 10× “Believing En- *440 derle would be uncooperative and might become unavailable for questioning, the police obtained a material-witness warrant pursuant to Iowa Code section 804.11. Pursuant to that warrant, Enderle was arrested and questioned at the police station.”
Amended July 30, 2015 Danny Homan, Steven J. Sodders, Jack Hatch, Pat Murphy, & Mark Smith v. Terry Branstad, Governor, State of Iowa, & Charles M. Palmer, Dir., Iowa Dep't of Human Servs., 864 N.W.2d 321 (Iowa 2015).
· cites it 4× “We applied the public-importance exception in order to hear the defendants’ facial challenge to the statute, explaining: Our appellate courts have not yet interpreted section 804.11, and a decision would provide guidance to law enforcement personnel and judicial officers faced…”
State v. Wells, 437 N.W.2d 575 (Iowa 1989).
· cites it 4× “Shortly after the shootings, Alfred Gatewood was arrested as a material witness, pursuant to Iowa Code section 804.11. After obtaining his release by posting a bond, Gatewood was deposed before trial by the State and Wells' attorney.”
State Of Iowa Vs. Chad Lavern Enderle (Iowa 2007).
· cites it 10× “Believing Enderle would be uncooperative and might become unavailable for questioning, the police obtained a material-witness warrant pursuant to Iowa Code section 804.11. Pursuant to that warrant, Enderle was arrested and questioned at the police station.”
Danny Homan, Steven J. Sodders, Jack Hatch, Pat Murphy, & Mark Smith v. Terry Branstad, Governor, State of Iowa, & Charles M. Palmer, Dir., Iowa Dep't of Human Servs. (Iowa 2015).
· cites it 4× “We applied the public-importance exception in order to hear the defendants’ facial challenge to the statute, explaining: Our appellate courts have not yet interpreted section 804.11, and a decision would provide guidance to law enforcement personnel and judicial officers faced…”
State of Iowa v. Austin Dean Mahana (Iowa 2026).
· cites it 2× “at 239 (quoting Iowa Code § 804.11 (1999)). We fixed that problem by interpreting the statute to require a probable cause showing that the witness would be unavailable.”
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