Controversy mounts over notorious Iowa county attorney given a second chance

A kickback scandal involving former Cass County Attorney James Barry in 2004 was about as big as it gets in Iowa, and, for a time, cast a wide shadow over Iowa’s criminal justice system.

Appalled at the time by a lack of action by state government officials, seven Atlantic residents decided to do something very rare: Petition the district court themselves to have Barry, county attorney for 14 years, and Sheriff Larry Jones removed from office.

Judge Robert Hutchinson ousted the two top lawmen, finding them responsible for willful misconduct and maladministration in office in a scheme to offer plea bargains for cash. In 2009, Iowa's Supreme Court suspended Barry's law license for a year, saying what he did cast disrepute on the judicial system and amounted to "justice for sale."

But on May 11, the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors set aside that history and voted unanimously to resurrect Barry’s career in public office.

Appointing the Muscatine native as a top prosecutor once again in the southeast Iowa county of 43,000, the supervisors ignited a rash of complaints and criticism from residents, bar members and law enforcement and some jockeying for public office in the November election.

Some have questioned whether the move was an inside deal in a county already beset by political controversies and allegations of good-ol-boy favoritism. Others have wanted to know how a prosecutor who had his law license suspended for taking cash contributions that benefited him personally could once again hold public office.

Ed Askew, a Muscatine chemist who is one of two candidates running to unseat county board members this fall, filed an open records request this week, seeking more information.

Askew’s running against supervisor Scott Sauer, who called Barry’s actions in 2004 “hiccups in his past.” He wants to know why no other candidates were considered, as many in the area were qualified.

“A lot of lawyers and upstanding Republicans are appalled by this. Absolutely appalled,” the Democrat said.

Mike Channon, a local deputy and another Democrat running a second time for sheriff, said he and other deputies are concerned Barry’s past misconduct will become an issue when cases they investigate get to court.

“Any defense attorney is going to bring all this up. It’s going to bring a lot more scrutiny to the work we do on the streets,” the 48-year longtime deputy said.

Channon says Barry's appointment follows a series of local controversies that have seeded an unusual level of division and distrust in the area:

• Three years ago this month, Muscatine's Democrat mayor was impeached by the city’s Republican-led City Council and was later fought successfully in court to keep her job.
• Last January, the five supervisors agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit alleging abuse of power against then-County Attorney Alan Ostergren, days before he applied for a seat on the Iowa Supreme Court. (Ostergren pursued misconduct and fraud charges for two years against former West Liberty city manager Chris Ward that a judge later ruled was unjustified.)
• Last September, Sheriff CJ Ryan was the subject of a vote of no confidence by members of the local deputies union amid allegations of retaliation, favoritism and lying about his reasons for failing to provide a veteran a funeral escort.
• And in late April, the county’s chief jailer Dean Naylor was ousted after making remarks that were allegedly racist and homophobic on YouTube — but only after other jailers, Johnson County officials and the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization insisted he had to go.

Supervisors Chairman Jeff Sorenson, vice chairman Santos Saucedo and Sauer did not return phone calls and emails this week seeking more information about how Barry was chosen.

But supervisors told local media that he was the only candidate to apply for the job who was qualified and that Barry had changed.

In a May 13 interview with the Muscatine Journal, Barry said he had learned from his long-ago mistakes, that "a well-intended purpose does not mean it’s OK to get there using any method; public perception matters; appearance within the court system matters."

After the Register first exposed how Barry had been offering drug, drunk driving and other defendants plea deals for lesser charges in exchange for cash contributions that went to the sheriff, he also said the judge in his misconduct case ignored his own efforts to be honest.

“What the written order doesn’t do is focus on my honesty and transparency,” he told the newspaper. “The written order doesn’t focus on what I learned from, that which has changed me as an individual and put me in the best position in my life to do what it is I’m trying to do. I’m not going to sit here and tell you what I did was perfect and I’m not going to try to justify it, because that’s futile. What I can tell you is that I spent an enormous amount of time trying not to personally benefit from anything and that’s the very thing I was accused of.”

Bar not consulted

Kale Knisley, the head of the Muscatine County Bar Association, said the bar is a diverse organization that doesn’t weigh in as a group on individual appointees or political candidates.

But he said members did disagree with the supervisors' decision to hire Barry before consulting with the bar.

“We felt as if the process could have been a more coordinated and cooperative effort. We have a network of attorneys who have dedicated their entire careers to that kind of public service, and we want to use that network to help fill super important positions like this one,” he said.

Knisley said the COVID-19 pandemic was likely partially to blame because lawyers weren't talking among themselves at the county courthouse. Few people realized the board was considering appointing Barry to replace Ostregren, who resigned abruptly and said he was moving to Des Moines.

Now that the decision has been made, however, members plan to work and cooperate with Barry until an election in the fall, Knisley said.

Barry has said he intends to run for reelection this fall, as has Bill Tharp, a West Liberty Democrat who came within 139 votes of defeating Ostergren in the last election.

Tharp said he wasn't planning on running again until 2022, but people in his home county are concerned about perceived corruption and good government. 

The $50,000 court settlement paid just before Ostergren left office fed into that, he said.

"I think people feel they've had enough of the soap opera and they just want the government to do what the voters want them to do and solve problems the right way," he said.

Tharp said he doesn't know Barry, but he was on a campaign for better governing before the appointment stirred things up.

"People are in need of leadership right now and they want to know their officials will do the right thing and give good advice to the county, and to make sure there's fairness and justice in prosecution of crimes," he said.

Preventing a next time

Sixteen years ago, Register reporter Clark Kauffman broke the story about Barry and Jones.

Reviewing hundreds of citations issued over two years, Kauffman found numerous examples of Barry allowing offenders to buy their way out of tickets by pleading guilty to non-moving equipment violations that had nothing to do with drugs, drunk driving or the other reasons they were arrested.

Kauffman also asked to see the ledger for the sheriff's drug fund — listing thousands of dollars that had been taken from defendants. Some of that money was used to pay for Barry's cellphone and an SUV for him to drive, though he made $90,000 a year at the time. 

A lengthy audit requested afterward by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation auditor found at least $11,000 in undocumented expenditures, despite poor bookkeeping by the sheriff's department.

Barry admitted at the time that he knew money forfeited by defendants should have gone to the state, according to court documents in his Supreme Court discipline case. He also admitted using numerous guns from the sheriff's department for his personal use.

Later, Kauffman found examples of other prosecutors who were engaged in questionable plea bargain deals, similar to what Barry had been doing.

But back then, Iowa’s County Attorneys Association was in charge of policing its own members. And open records requests showed the head of that private association, Corwin Ritchie, embarked on a “damage control” campaign on behalf of the embattled prosecutors.

After Barry was ousted from office, that association recommended only that he receive a reprimand.

Many argued at the time there was enough evidence for the government to prosecute both Barry and Jones criminally for misconduct in office. If convicted on a felony charge, neither would have been eligible to hold an elected office in Iowa again, according to Iowa’s secretary of state.

A grand jury was convened after the state audit, but members opted not to file criminal charges.

"The inquiry is complete regarding the conduct in office of former Cass County Attorney James Barry, former Cass County Sheriff Larry Jones, and former Cass County sheriff's employee Darrell Jones, and the matter is ignored," the grand jury report said.

After a heap of other dirty laundry aired related to the Cass County scandal, some top officials in Iowa's justice system scrambled to make reforms to ensure what Barry and Jones did would never be repeated.

Today, any county attorney who faces allegations of unethical conduct would be subject to investigation under chapters 35 and 36 of Iowa code.

After a complaint is filed with the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board, it is reviewed by a 12-member board of nine lawyers and three lay members. The board can eventually dismiss the complaint, admonish or recommend a reprimand of the lawyer, or prosecute the complaint before the Grievance Commission.

Reprimands, suspensions or revocations become public record after they are filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court. 

But if an attorney's license is in good standing and they are registered to vote in Iowa, nothing precludes them from holding the office of county attorney.

Barry's fate now rests with voters.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Reach her at lrood@dmreg.com or 515-284-8549. Follow her on Twitter at @leerood and on Facebook at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog. Our subscribers make the Reader's Watchdog possible.

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