Open Range: All of Life's Lessons on Honor, Dignity, Individual Liberty, and American Purpose

Open Range (2003) is my favorite Western and, in fact, my favorite movie of all time. It is available on Touchstone OnDemand. It offers not only thrilling panoramic scenery but also poignant lessons regarding honor, courage, dignity, and personal liberty. Here are 20 of those lessons.

Open Range is a Western in the classic American sense. It conjures the stereotypical David and Goliath battle as between free grazing cattle drivers and an unscrupulous, empire-building rancher, corrupt law enforcement, and paid mercenaries in his employ. 

I watch it frequently, since I've gladly paid for the rights to do so, and have assembled the lessons I believe are most central to its narrative-- and the narrative of the American experience. They'll be lessons I pass on to my boys. 

1.         A man’s trust is a valuable thing.

2.         Every man has to pull his weight.

3.         I ain’t one to take a man’s confidence lightly; it’s best to keep rememberin’ it if you want your fair share of respect from men like Charlie and Boss

4.         Get yourself a trade and set up in a town you’ll always have a roof over your head, a bed up off the ground, and food no further than a café.

5.         Always liked me a sidearm with some heft.

6.         We’ll drink to good health for them that have it comin’

7.         Most time a man will tell you his bad intentions if you listen—let yourself hear.

8.         Beautiful country. A man can get lost out here; forget there’s people and things that ain’t so simple as this.

9.         Cows is one thing. But one man tellin’ another man where he can go in this country is somethin’ else . . . sticks in my craw.

10.       A man oughta have something to show he was here.

11.       We pay our way.

12.       A man’s got a right to protect his property and his life. And we ain’t lettin’ no rancher or his lawman take either.

13.       You may not know this but there’s things that gnaw on a man worse than dyin’

14.       I don’t know what you should tell her Charlie. This may be the last time she sees you in this world or you her, so tell her anything you can because she’s entitled to more than just your backside walkin’ away.

15.       Shame to go forever without taking the taste of something.

16.       Pretty day for makin’ things right.

17.       Well enjoy it. ‘cause once it starts it’s gonna be messy like nothin’ you ever seen.

18.       Fact is it’s what I always respected about you. What I always appreciated—how you treated other people. How you treated me. How you never looked for no trouble and that kept me from trouble.

19.       Not much for runnin’ from cowards.

20.       We ain’t givin’ up our guns. He’s gonna kill Button anyway. The only chance for him or us when we walk up there is these guns.

Of course, it is also a love story. But my wife insists that I mention her objection to the line in the movie, in which Charlie asks his intended bride rhetorically, “how is this [marriage] gonna work if you don’t do what I say?” Annette Benning chuckles dismissively at this. If you’re married, you understand this to be a universal reaction.

The last line of the movie? Let's go get our cows.

            

Theft in Iowa: How Value Makes a Difference in a Theft Prosecution

To catch a thief: even if someone is caught "red handed" in Iowa, the State must still prove the value of the stolen item, which is an element of the offense. Note: this image, among the first set of fingerprints taken from 1859 to 1860 by William James Herschel, is considered to be in the public domain because it appears the copyright has expired, according to Wikipedia. The image is available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft 

The value of an allegedly stolen item is “its highest value by any reasonable standard at the time that it is stolen.  Reasonable standard includes but is not limited to market value within the community, actual value, or replacement value.” Iowa Code § 714.3.

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The classification of a theft charge in Iowa hinges on this value. For example, a theft of something of value in excess of $10,000 is considered first degree theft, a Class “C” felony punishable by at most ten years in prison. Theft of anything in value greater than $1,000 but less than $10,000 is considered a Class “D” felony. Theft of anything in value greater than $500 but not exceeding $1,000 is an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by at most two years in prison. The theft of anything of value greater than $200 but not greater than $500 is a serious misdemeanor punishable by at most one year in jail. Theft of anything of value less than $500 is a simple misdemeanor punishable by at most 30 days in jail.

There are any number of ways to commit theft in Iowa but all require proof of this value. 

If you or a loved one have been charged with theft in the State of Iowa, it may be important for a competent attorney practicing in the area of criminal law to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged theft.

Of course, a blog is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading a blog or sending unsolicited information to an attorney over the Internet.

Iowa Courts Online: How do I—and others—check on the progress of my criminal case?

The Iowa Courts Online Website is a valuable resource for lawyers and the public-- it is also the official electronic record of all judicial activity in the State of Iowa, called the electronic "docket." It is available at https://www.iowacourts.state.ia.us/

In Iowa, there is an electronic docket sheet that describes items in the court file. A docket is an official log of pleadings in the court file. The docket “has independent legal significance and is the ‘source’ of other things, such as the record on appeal.”

Judicial Branch & State Court Adm'r v. Iowa Dist. Court for Linn County, 800 N.W.2d 569, 577 (Iowa 2011)It contains:

“the title and nature of the action, the place of hearing, appearances, and notations of the documents filed with the judicial officer, the proceedings in the case and orders made, the verdict and judgment including costs, any satisfaction of the judgment, whether the judgment was certified to the clerk of the district court, whether an appeal was taken, and the amount of any appeal bond.”

Iowa Dist. Court for Linn County, 800 N.W.2d at 574.

The Iowa Supreme Court has held that the electronic docket sheet is the official record of activity in a given criminal case. Id.

If you would like to search for a particular name or case on Iowa Courts Online, you may do so as a matter of public record at:

www.iowacourts.state.ia.us/

A couple of caveats apply. First, I frequently hear from former and potential clients that a “deferred judgment” has not be expunged from the official record during the pendency of probation. That is true. Deferred judgment grantees’ files are not immediately removed from Iowa Courts online. They must be “expunged” and the file sealed following the successful completion of probation. That makes sense—if the defendant is half-way through probation, they haven’t proven themselves worthy of expungement yet.

Secondly, I occasionally hear from former clients that the record “inaccurately” reflects that they were found guilty or pleaded guilty to a felony when, in fact, they benefitted from a plea deal to a lesser included or substituted misdemeanor. In reviewing Iowa Courts Online in these cases, I have never found that the record is incorrect. What I suspect is happening is that potential or current employers are reading the search results for a particular defendant. These results show that the defendant was originally charged with a felony but you have to go through a few more mouse clicks to learn that the ultimate disposition was a misdemeanor conviction. That’s because the number describing the case file will have a felony designation beginning with “FECR.”

Third, dismissals have a similar effect while deferred judgments are expunged. In the Iowa District Court for Linn County case above, 800 N.W.2d at 574, the Court held that dismissals do not warrant erasure of the record. Id. Employers and potential employers can easily see that a person was charged with a crime but they must dig deeper to learn that the case was ultimately dismissed or resulted in an acquittal.

In the final analysis, Iowa Courts Online is a valuable tool that lawyers use everyday. If a defendant learns to use it, they can stay on top of their case and also save money calling up their lawyer to ask when court dates will be in the future.

A blog is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by reading a blog or sending unsolicited information to an attorney over the Internet.