The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that Iowa's 2017 "stand your ground" law provides immunity from civil liability, but not immunity from criminal prosecution.

The Supreme Court affirmed an Iowa City man's 2018 voluntary manslaughter conviction for killing a man during a 2017 shooting at an Iowa City pedestrian mall. Lamar Wilson was convicted in February 2018 of killing 22-year-old Kaleek Jones and injuring Xavier Hicks and D'Andre Hicks. At about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2017, Wilson fired five shots into the crowded pedestrian mall.

The Iowa Supreme Court found the "stand your ground" legislation does not require pre-trial hearings, nor does the law provide immunity from criminal prosecution as it does "in some other states with stand-your-ground laws," Justice Edward Mansfield wrote in the opinion.

During a trial moved from Johnson County to Des Moines because of publicity surrounding the case, Wilson's lawyers did not dispute that he fired the shots.

On appeal, Wilson argued he should have been entitled to a pre-trial evidentiary hearing where he could have presented his justification defense without the need for a trial. Instead, a jury acquitted Wilson of a charge of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

He was convicted on one count of voluntary manslaughter, two counts of assault with intent to commit serious injury and one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon. Wilson was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

After the trial ended, a hearing was held to determine if Wilson should be granted immunity under the new law because he was justified in using force to protect himself from an aggressor. A district court judge found Wilson was not justified in using deadly force during the altercation at the pedestrian mall where rival members of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City gangs met.

The district court found that the law was vague and did not include legal procedures for prosecutors and defense attorneys to grant immunity. An existing provision that protected a person who uses reasonable force against an aggressor was strengthened by the law, Mansfield wrote.

In February 2018 a Red Oak man was released from jail before trial after District Judge James Heckerman found he was justified in killing a man as he was ambushed in an alley by two men wearing hoodies and bandannas. Kevin Duane Staley became the first person freed under Iowa's "stand your ground law" in the case.

Prosecutors never appealed the ruling. Last February Staley was sentenced in federal court to more than six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Mansfield noted that many similar "stand your ground" laws enacted around the same time protect defendants only from civil liability. State attorneys argued, in this case, the law was intended to protect defendants who are justified in using deadly force from paying criminal restitution related to non-homicide convictions.

Iowa law contains other justifications for people to use deadly force, including defending property or defending themselves or others when they believe lives are in danger. Mansfield acknowledged the "stand your ground" law may re-state protections that already existed under Iowa law.

"With a good deal of creativity, the state posits a hypothetical scenario under which a defendant is acquitted of murder based on a justification defense but convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm," Mansfield wrote. "According to the State, section 704.13 would protect the defendant from having to pay restitution to the aggressor’s estate due to the felon-in-possession conviction."

Wilson also argued the state failed to prove a lack of justification for shooting Jones, Xavier Hicks and D'Andre Hicks. Mansfield noted the evidence presented at trial overwhelmingly showed the state proved Wilson lacked a justification to shoot the victims.

Wilson initiated the altercation with the rival gang when they passed each other, the opinion said.

"Later, Wilson fired first," Mansfield wrote. "He did so indiscriminately, striking and killing an individual who had been a peacemaker and two other unarmed individuals.

Wilson argued he should have been granted his justification hearing before trial like Staley was. Justification can quickly become the sole focus of cases, Mansfield noted. The court believed the legislators did not intend to mandate pre-trial evidentiary hearings in "stand your ground" cases.

"Thus having a pre-trial immunity hearing would often result in two proceedings covering the same ground," Mansfield wrote.

Philip Joens covers breaking news for The Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

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