Postma v. Iowa District Court for Plymouth County

In this original certiorari action, plaintiff Harold 0. Postma challenges the district court’s order setting his fees for working as a court-appointed attorney in a criminal case. Postma contends that: 1) the county attorney is equitably estopped from asserting the cost guidelines for court-appointed counsel; 2) these guidelines violate the federal and state constitutions; 3) they also contravene the statutory requirement for reasonable compensation; and 4) the guidelines were incorrectly applied. We find no merit in these assertions.

Postma was the privately-retained attorney for a defendant…