Iowa
Iowa Supreme Court overturns doctor’s child sex abuse conviction
The Iowa Supreme Court’s 2025-2026 docket is filled with key cases
Iowa’s top court has a busy schedule as it launches into a new term this fall, delving into cases involving subjects including bullying and TikTok.
The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a West Des Moines doctor found guilty of sexually abusing a child, ruling that allowing the victim to testify via one-way video violated the Iowa Constitution.
The court on Tuesday, Dec. 23, reversed the conviction of Lynn Melvin Lindaman, a longtime central Iowa surgeon who practiced at the Lindaman Orthopaedics clinic in West Des Moines before he was charged in 2023 with second-degree sexual abuse. The case was remanded for a new trial.
The decision is the latest in a string of rulings that have set Iowa apart as the only state in the country whose highest court has barred one-way video testimony in criminal trials, even in cases involving child victims.
Those decisions already have begun reshaping prosecutions across the state and have prompted lawmakers to launch the process of amending the Iowa Constitution. The change would ultimately require voter approval.
Lindaman, now 75, was convicted after a jury trial in Polk County. Prosecutors alleged that on June 26, 2023, he committed a sex act in Ankeny against a child under the age of 10. A second count of sexual abuse was dismissed prior to trial. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 42½ years because of a prior sexual predatory offense in 1976. He also faced a separate and now-dismissed civil lawsuit from an Iowa woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her in 1975.
The Iowa Offender Search still lists Lindaman as in custody of the Iowa Medical & Classification Center.
On appeal, Lindaman argued that his constitutional rights were violated when the district court allowed the child to testify from another room via one-way closed-circuit television, rather than from the witness stand in the courtroom.
“Today’s decision from the Iowa Supreme Court is an important win for Lynn Lindaman and a major step toward a fair result,” said Lucas Taylor, the attorney representing Lindaman. “Although the court did not rule in our favor on every issue, this ruling recognizes serious errors in the prior proceedings and gives Mr. Lindaman the chance to present his defense to a new jury.”
In a 4-3 ruling issued earlier this year in State v. White, the Iowa Supreme Court agreed with that argument, holding that one-way video testimony violates the confrontation clause of the Iowa Constitution. Writing for the majority in that case, Justice David May said that “when the accused and the witness are prevented from seeing each other, there is no face-to-face confrontation, and the Iowa Constitution is not satisfied.”
The ruling came despite U.S. Supreme Court precedent allowing such testimony and laws in many other states permitting it. Under the Iowa statute the court overturned, judges had been allowed to authorize remote testimony by minors, or witnesses with mental illnesses or disabilities, if a judge found that “trauma caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant … would impair the minor’s ability to communicate.”
The White decision arose from an Osceola County case, but its effects have since spread and courts across Iowa have begun hearing challenges from defendants convicted in cases where one-way video testimony was used.
Following the ruling, Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office, said at least five Polk County defendants convicted under similar circumstances could be entitled to new trials.
One of those defendants, Michael Dunbar, already has received a new trial. Dunbar was resentenced after the victim testified in person from the witness stand, and the court again imposed a life sentence.
Dissent fuels push to amend Iowa Constitution
The State v. White ruling has drawn sharp criticism from prosecutors and state leaders, including Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who has argued the decision unnecessarily traumatizes child victims.
Bird has proposed a constitutional amendment to allow children to testify remotely in certain cases. The measure has passed both chambers of the Legislature once and must pass again before going to voters in a statewide referendum.
“Children shouldn’t be forced to testify at arm’s length from their abusers, and many kids can’t. This opinion shows how important it is to restore protections for a child victim to testify remotely,” Bird said in a Tuesday statement to the Des Moines Register. “Our office will continue to fight for a constitutional amendment to ensure kids are protected and abusers are brought to justice. We are grateful our effort has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Iowa Legislature.”
Justice Thomas D. Waterman, writing in a dissent in the opinion issued Tuesday, rejected the majority’s historical interpretation of the confrontation clause.
“Thunder comes during rainstorms; it does not follow that thunder requires rain. That video testimony was not used in 1871 tells us more about technology than it does about constitutional interpretation,” Waterman wrote.
He also said there is “no historical evidence that the framers of the Iowa Constitution intended a different meaning for confrontation rights than the Sixth Amendment,” and warned that the majority was reading requirements into Iowa’s Constitution that do not exist in its text.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
This story was updated to add new information and to correct an inaccuracy.
SIOUX COUNTY, Iowa (KTIV) – A Woodbury County woman was taken by ambulance to the hospital after a rollover took place in Sioux County.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office says 45-year-old Jenni Madison of Sioux City was taken to the hospital Saturday, July 11.
Authorities say at about 12:01 p.m., deputies investigated a rollover that took place on Highway 60, one mile south of Alton. According to the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, the car was traveling north on Highway 60 when the driver lost control, entered the median and rolled.
Deputies say Madison was taken by ambulance to the Orange City Area Health System to be treated for minor injuries. The vehicle sustained $12,500 in damage.
Orange City Fire Department, Alton Fire Department, Alton Ambulance, the Orange City Police Department, and the Iowa State Patrol helped the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office at the scene.
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A number of Iowa high school baseball standouts were selected during the 2026 Major League Baseball draft. The amateur draft was conducted July 11-12, 2026 from the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Gable Mitchell, Kaleb LaFavor, Caleb Klein, Sam George, Nate Smithburg and Kooper Schulte each heard their names called during the draft.
Gable Mitchell Was Two-Way Star For Iowa City High
Mitchell, an Iowa City High grad, was picked in the eighth round with the 193rd overall pick by the Toronto Blue Jays. He played his collegiate baseball at the University of Iowa after batting .466 with 12 extra-base hits, 55 runs scored, 29 RBI and 25 steals, going 5-0 with a 0.95 earned run average and 18 strikeouts as a senior.
In high school, Mitchell was an all-stater in baseball and earned all-conference honors on the football field. His grandfather is Dan Gable, an Olympic wrestling gold medalist who led the Hawkeyes to 15 NCAA championships.
Kaleb LaFavor Lone Current Iowa High School Baseball Player Selected
LaFavor, currently a senior at Sioux City Bishop Heelan High School, was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 10th round with the 304th pick. He has gone 3-1 with 40 strikeouts and a 0.79 earned run average in just under 18 innings on the mound this summer.
Klein, a Western Dubuque High School prep, played at Southeastern Community College and Southeast Missouri. He helped lead the Bobcats to back-to-back Class 3A Iowa High School Athletic Association State Baseball Tournament championships.
During his senior season at Western Dubuque, Klein hit .414 with nine doubles, seven triples, 49 runs scored and 30 RBI, stealing 20 bases. He went to the Atlanta Braves with the 442nd pick in the 15th round.
Several Former Iowa High School Baseball Players Hear Their Names Called
George, a former Pleasant Valley High School standout, played for Minnesota State University this past spring and was picked by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 19th round with the No. 581 overall selection.
In his final high school season with the Spartans, he struck out 62 batters in 44 innings, putting together a 2.07 earned run average.
Smithburg was picked by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 18th round with the 533rd pick after playing at Fairfield High School and for the Oklahoma Sooners.
As a senior, Smithburg went 6-1 with 83 strikeouts and a 0.43 earned run average in 47 innings pitched on the mound.
Schulte, who played at New London High School, played collegiately at Central Arizona, Southeastern Community College and for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was selected by the New York Mets in the 20th round with the 600th pick overall.
He was an all-stater for New London in 2022, helping lead them to a state baseball championship that same season. As a senior, Schulte hit .444 with six home runs, 13 doubles, 50 runs scored, 44 RBI and nine steals, recording three saves and 29 strikeouts in just over 14 innings pitched.
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The Saints claimed a victory in its series finale at Iowa, defeating the I-Cubs 5-4 to snap a four-game losing streak.
Orlando Arcia’s third-inning double scored Matt Wallner and Aaron Sabato to give St. Paul (50-41) the lead for good in the third inning.
Iowa scored twice in the ninth and threatened to steal away the win before reliever Trent Baker struck out Christian Bethancourt to end the game and earn the save.
Ben Ross and Kyler Fedko hit homers for the visitors.
Matt Bowman, who relieved Saints starter Aaron Rozek in the fifth inning, claimed the win.
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