Prosecutors : defense search into Mollie Tibbetts' bank records 'prohibited by law'
His defense is now accused of a "fishing expedition" into Mollie Tibbett's bank records, the woman he's accused of murdering.
New filings in the case of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, charged with the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, accuse the defense of a "fishing expedition" into the victim's bank records.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown and Poweshiek County Attorney Bart Klaver say they became aware that an ex parte subpoena had been filed by the defense after seeing it on the Electronic Document Management System Friday, January 21. Later that same day, the defense emailed a copy of the subpoena to the State.
Prosecutors say the defense issued the subpoena through the Poweshiek County Clerk on January 15, six days before they received a copy. A return of service was date-stamped four days later by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
The State says the defense didn't notify the prosecution or get approval from the court for the subpoena, which is for Mollie Tibbett's bank records at Bankers Trust in Des Moines.
Prior to the service of the subpoena the defense did not file the subpoenas in EDMS which would suggest that the intent of the defense was to keep the existence of the subpoena from the State and Court. The timing of the email to the undersigned with the subpoena attached would further support this contention. On its face, the subpoena appears to be a fishing expedition into the confidential banking records of Mollie Tibbets who is not a witness or party and is the person the defendant is charged with killing.
Brown and Klaver write that defendants are not allowed "routine pretrial access to records of non-parties and non-witnesses unless ordered by a court." They say this subpoena is "prohibited by law" as it is not for a trial or deposition witness.
Prosecutors are asking for the court to issue an order quashing the subpoena "as it is issued contrary to law," along with an order prohibiting defense counsel from issuing more subpoenas "outside the context of a deposition or trial." They ask for another order that if any other such subpoenas have been ordered, the defense must provide copies to the Court and prosecution.
The prosecution's requests will be discussed during a hearing set for Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
