The Supreme Court has dismissed a southeast Iowa man’s marijuana possession conviction.
In November of 2012, authorities say they smelled marijuana smoke coming from Curtis Halverson’s room in a halfway house in Burlington and a partially-smoked joint was found in the room. A jury found Halverson guilty of possessing marijuana in a state prison facility. He argued his lawyer failed to point out the halfway house where he was being held was not run by the Iowa Department of Corrections.
The Iowa Supreme Court notes community-based halfway houses like the one in Burlington are under the direct management on the judicial branch and Halverson’s attorney “failed” to point that out and get the charge dismissed. The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed decisions from the Iowa Court of Appeals and the district court and has dismissed the pot possession charge.
In another ruling issued this morning, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the first degree murder conviction against a Waterloo man for the 2012 shooting of his fiancee and killing her mother.