State v. Lyle, 854 N.W.2d 378 (Iowa Sup. Ct. 2014)

The Iowa Supreme Court struck down mandatory minimum sentencing schemes as applied to a young person transferred to adult court, finding mandatory minimum sentences to be in violation of federal and state prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment and the best interest clause in Iowa’s juvenile code. The court notes “the statutory recognition of the need for some discretion when sentencing [youth] is consistent with our overall approach in the past in dealing with[youth]. …. ”District courts must consider the ‘[youth’s] lack of maturity, underdeveloped sense of responsibility, vulnerability to peer pressure, and the less fixed nature of the [youth’s] character,’ keeping in mind that these are ‘mitigating, not aggravating factors.’”