AP
5/12/20
A Muscatine attorney with a troubled past has been appointed as the county’s interim prosecutor, despite objections and warnings from the local bar association.
The Muscatine Journal reports that the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on Monday approved James Barry as the interim county attorney. He’ll stay in the role until a new attorney is elected in November.
In 2004, Barry was removed as Cass County attorney by a judge for misconduct in office. Barry and then-Cass County Sheriff Larry Jones were removed by a judge after seven citizens claimed the two had reduced traffic court sentences in exchange for cash payments to the sheriff’s department drug fund. That money was then used for what were described as “questionable expenses”. Barry also allegedly kept confiscated guns for his own personal use. He was later forced to turn over 15 guns.
Barry’s law license was suspended for one year in 2009 after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Barry’s actions had not only violated the rules, but had brought the entire system of justice into disrepute. The court also ruled that Barry had run the county attorney’s office as if “justice was for sale”.
Those who support Barry’s appointment say he’s reformed and was the only candidate to apply.
