E-FILED FECR010822 - 2021 JUN 04 04:13 PM POWESHIEK

CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT Page 1 of 4

IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR POWESHIEK COUNTY

STATE OF IOWA,
CASE NO. FECR010822
Plaintiff,
v.
RULING ON DEFENDANT’S
CRISTHIAN BAHENA RIVERA, MOTION FOR MISTRIAL

Defendant.

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Defendant is charged with murder in the first degree in violation of Iowa Code section

707.2. Trial in this case began on May 17, 2021, in Davenport, Iowa. The State was represented

by Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown and Poweshiek County Attorney Bart Klaver. The

Defendant appeared personally with attorneys of record, Chad and Jennifer Frese. Interpreters

Steven Rhodes and Ana Pottebaum were sworn-in on May 17 prior to the commencement of

proceedings.

II. FINDINGS OF FACT

1. On May 20, 2021, the Court was informed that a State’s witness had viewed the live-

streamed coverage of the trial from a room outside the courtroom. The Court disclosed this

information to the attorneys of record outside the presence of the jury. After an opportunity

to confer with his counsel, the Defendant, on the record, moved for a mistrial based upon

the livestream viewing.

 E-FILED FECR010822 - 2021 JUN 04 04:13 PM POWESHIEK
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT Page 2 of 4

2. The Court issued an oral ruling denying the motion. Specifically, the Court found that no

party had sought a sequestration order from the Court and no prejudice had resulted. The

Court indicated that a written ruling would be forthcoming.

III. PRINCIPLES OF LAW

1. Iowa Rule of Evidence 5.615 states, in part:

“At a party’s request the court may order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear other

witnesses’ testimony. Or the court may do so on its own. “

2. A sequestration order pursuant to Rule 5.615 is “to lessen the danger of perjury, or at least

a suggestion to following witnesses of what their testimony should be to correspond with

that previously given; to put each witness on his own knowledge of the facts to which he

testifies rather than to have his memory refreshed, even guided, and his testimony colored

by what has gone before.” State v. Pierce, 287 N.W.2d 570, 574 (Iowa 1980) (quoting In

re Will of Smith, 245 Iowa 38, 42, 60 N.W.2d 866, 869 (1953)).

3. Under Iowa law, “a party is not entitled as a matter of right to exclusion of witnesses from

the courtroom.” State v. Sharkey, 311 N.W.2d 68, 70 (Iowa 1981).

4. Mistrial “may be granted only when the matter forbidden is so prejudicial that its effect

upon the jury could not be erased by the trial court’s admonition. State v. Huser, 894

N.W.2d 472, 498 (Iowa 2017) (citing State v. Jackson, 587 N.W.2d 764, 766 (Iowa 1998);

State v. Mattingly, 220 N.W.2d 865, 870-71 (Iowa 1974)).

IV. ANALYSIS
The starting point in the Court’s analysis, of which the parties agree, is that no formal

sequestration of witness was ever requested order, or issued by the Court. Under Iowa law,

exclusion of witnesses is not a right and only obligated upon court order. Without such an order,

the State witnesses who viewed the livestream did not violate any court mandate.
 E-FILED FECR010822 - 2021 JUN 04 04:13 PM POWESHIEK
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT Page 3 of 4

The remaining aspect of the Court’s oral ruling on the Defendant’s Motion was the lack

prejudice shown. When the Defendant argued the Motion, he provided no example of prejudice

occurring from the livestream viewing. A mistrial is a drastic measure taken as a response to

something so highly prejudicial no curative action could be taken by court. The Defendant’s lack

of showing of prejudice necessarily renders a mistrial to be improper and unwarranted in this

situation. Therefore, the Court finds the Motion should be denied.

V. ORDER
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED the Defendant’s Motion for Mistrial is overruled and denied.
 E-FILED FECR010822 - 2021 JUN 04 04:13 PM POWESHIEK
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT Page 4 of 4

State of Iowa Courts

Case Number Case Title
FECR010822 STATE OF IOWA VS RIVERA, CRISTHIAN BAHENA
Type: OTHER ORDER
So Ordered

Electronically signed on 2021-06-04 16:13:01