My question involves traffic court in the State of: Iowa
My questions are:
Is a speeding ticket issued by Iowa state patrol (outside any city limits, no city jurisdiction) classified as a simple misdemeanor?I believed it was a non-indictable simple misdemeanor but the prosecuting attorney said it is actually a "traffic infraction" according to Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure under "non-indictable offenses", and that therefore criminal rights to discovery (ICRP) and to a jury trial (Iowa Constitution) DO NOT APPLY. However the IRCP in that chapter and the Iowa code from what I see makes NO REFERENCE to the words "traffic" or "infraction", and there is clearly a "criminal surcharge" on the ticket.
What is the degree of proof used at this level? Reasonable doubt? Preponderance?
Thank you in advance.
Not-A-Lawyer-42

