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Greg W. Steensland
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Greg W. Steensland is a judge of the Fourth District of Iowa. He was appointed to this position on October 7, 2005.[1] His current term expires in 2018.
Education
Steensland graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in political science in 1973 and received his law degree from Drake University in 1976.[1]
Career
Steensland worked as a private practice lawyer for 15 years and as a public defender for 14 years.[1]
2012 election
Steensland was retained in the general election on November 6, winning 66.34 percent of the vote.[2][3]
- See also: Iowa judicial elections, 2012
Noteworthy events
Convicted rapist will not serve jail time
Judge Steensland ordered rehabilitation for a convicted rapist and substituted probation for a lengthy prison sentence.[4]
Brent Girouex, the former youth pastor for Victory Fellowship Church, pleaded guilty in November 2011 of sexually abusing and raping at least four boys in his care. He was charged with 61 counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor and 28 counts of third-degree sexual abuse (rape). Girouex explained that he was helping the boys stay pure from homosexual thoughts and was dubbed the "rape away the gay" pastor by the media.[5]
Girouex was initially sentenced to 17 years in prison in March 2012 after admitting his guilt. However, Steensland, who presided over the case, suspended the prison sentence and replaced it with 5 years of probation (the maximum allowed under the law) as well as a requirement for Girouex to participate in sex offender rehabilitation treatment.
This story gained a second round of national media attention in September 2013 after the case of a Montana high school teacher who was found guilty of raping a student. G. Todd Baugh suspended the defendant's prison sentence and required him to serve 30 days in prison. Many have expressed disappointment with both the Montana and Iowa rulings, arguing that the judges were too easy on the criminals.
Steensland called this one of the most difficult cases for a judge. He said at sentencing, "I mean there’s times when I sit up here and I wonder why in the world am I the one who makes this decision? Why? Well because I asked for the job and I got it. That’s why."[6][7][8]
Defiance woman gets 50 years for killing husband
When Steensland was a public defender, he argued the case of Dixie Shanahan. Shanahan was convicted of second-degree murder for killing her husband, whom she accused of years of abuse. Mandatory sentencing meant that Shanahan received fifty years in prison, though she rejected a plea deal that would have had her serve four to ten.[9]
Both Steensland and Judge Charles Smith said this case was an example of why mandatory sentencing guidelines do not work.[10]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Iowa Fourth District Court Scroll to "District Court Judge Greg W. Steensland..."
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, Unofficial General Election Results: District4
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, Judges Standing for Retention 2012
- ↑ Iowa Courts, "4/STATE VS GIROUEX BRENT - Charges," 2012
- ↑ Iowa Code 709.4 Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree
- ↑ http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130918/BASU/309180076/Basu-Compassion-sexual-predators-misguided Des Moines Register, "Basu: Compassion for sexual predators is misguided," September 17, 2013]
- ↑ Care 2, "Pastor Raped at Least 4 Boys to ‘Turn Them Straight,’ and Isn’t Going to Jail," September 14, 2013
- ↑ The Inquisitr, "‘Rape Away The Gay’ Pastor Brent Girouex Gets Sentence Reduced," September 11, 2013
- ↑ FindLaw.com, "Trial opens for woman who lived a year with husband's corpse," April 21, 2004
- ↑ Sioux City Journal, "Defiance woman gets 50 years for killing husband," May 11, 2004
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa
State courts:
Iowa Supreme Court • Iowa Court of Appeals • Iowa district courts
State resources:
Courts in Iowa • Iowa judicial elections • Judicial selection in Iowa
