State of Iowa v. Kourtney Shontez Hall, 969 N.W.2d 299

Hall was detained in Polk County Jail; a deposition for witness Emily Bowers was scheduled in Hall’s pending criminal case.
During recorded jail iWeb visitations, Hall repeatedly told Bowers not to go to "church," which Bowers understood as a coded request not to attend the deposition.
Bowers nevertheless appeared for the deposition, testified truthfully, and incriminated Hall.
Hall was charged with two counts of suborning perjury (Iowa Code § 720.3) and two counts of obstructing prosecution (Iowa Code § 719.3(2)); a jury convicted him on all counts.
The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed; the Iowa Supreme Court granted further review and considered only the sufficiency-of-the-evidence/statutory-interpretation issues.

Issue	State's Argument	Hall's Argument	Held
Whether telling a witness not to appear (coded language) fits suborning perjury under § 720.3	§ 720.3 covers inducements that would conceal material facts or cause false statements; telling a witness not to appear is an inducement to conceal material facts	§ 720.3 criminalizes inducing another to give false testimony under oath or to conceal facts while under oath; a request simply to not appear is not a request to give false testimony	Reversed: § 720.3 requires an inducement to produce false testimony or conceal material facts while under oath; mere inducement to not appear does not fall within the statute
Whether an offer/attempt to induce a witness not to appear violates § 719.3(2) (obstructing prosecution)	The statute prohibits inducing a witness to fail to appear; offering an inducement is criminal even if the witness still appears	§ 719.3(2) requires proof the defendant actually caused the witness to fail to appear; an unsuccessful attempt or offer is not covered	Reversed: § 719.3(2) requires that the inducement succeed (the witness actually fail to appear); an offer or unsuccessful attempt is insufficient

State v. Carter, 618 N.W.2d 374 (Iowa 2000) (perjury requires oath/affirmation administered by authorized official)
State v. Porter, 75 N.W. 519 (Iowa 1898) (subornation traditionally requires procurement of actual false testimony)
State v. Wykert, 199 N.W. 331 (Iowa 1924) (subornation is procuring another to commit perjury)
Riley v. United States, 647 A.2d 1165 (D.C. 1994) (telling witness "don't tell them anything" is suborning silence, not perjury)
State v. Sanford, 814 N.W.2d 611 (Iowa 2012) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Gray, 258 P.3d 242 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2011) ("induce" requires successful causation — witness must actually withhold testimony)
State v. Lomack, 106 N.W. 386 (Iowa 1906) (subornation characterized as accessory before the fact)