Portrayal in the Media

When you pursue a law degree, you accept the fact that should you be successful, you could very well end up with your name attached to some very high-profile cases. This is true with District Court Judge David Staudt.

He began his career as a public defender, meaning when someone accused of a crime needed an attorney but couldn't afford one, he was appointed to the task by the state. He was assigned to the case of Michelle Kehoe who killed one of her sons and attempted to kill her other son in 2009. Staudt attempted to plead insanity for Kehoe, which was controversial. "Nevertheless, lawyers representing Kehoe and Becker intend to use insanity or diminished capacity when the separate trials begin. And under Iowa Criminal Code, that puts a burden on them," said the Waterloo Courier.

There have been some other controversial cases when Staudt became District Court Judge, like in 2016 when a Waterloo officer was investigated following the discovery of crass remarks he made regarding a black teen who was killed in 2013.

"Judge David Staudt ruled that the comments were admissible," according to the Associated Press.

However the media has always shown appreciation for Staudt doing things the right way, as we can see from the following two quotes:

"The court further finds that the juror questionnaire results reveal that a substantial portion of the potential jurors in Black Hawk County have reached a fixed opinion concerning Mr. Morrissey's guilt or innocence and would be unable to fairly assess the facts in his case," Staudt wrote in his ruling." according to the Souix City Journal.

“District Court Judge David Staudt ruled from the bench Monday ordering a new trial for Perquondis Holmes, 25, in the death of 18-year-old Dae-Quan Campbell because jurors in his trial were shown Facebook photos of him and another person.” according to the Waterloo Courier.

Overall, the media respect Staudt, as I found with this quote from a Journalism and Law blog by Jade Pint, a possible former student of yours?

“It is an honor to appoint David Staudt as an Iowa District Court Judge,” said Governor Chet Culver in 2010, “David has an outstanding background of service to Iowans, and I thank him for continuing his commitment to justice through service on the bench.”