(SBA) - James Loomis is seeking reelection as Woodbury County attorney. A longtime prosecutor who joined the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office in 2003, Loomis said his experience has shaped his commitment to public safety, holding offenders accountable, pursuing justice for victims and strengthening partnerships with law enforcement and community leaders.
The following are Loomis’s responses to questions submitted by the Sergeant Bluff Advocate.
(Q) - Please introduce yourself to our readers. What experience in your legal career, public service and community involvement has prepared you to serve as Woodbury County Attorney?
(A) - I am James Loomis and I am running for re-election as your Woodbury County Attorney. I grew up on our family farm near Winterset, Iowa. During those years of walking beans, cutting thistles, and raising cattle, I learned the value of hard work, discipline, and personal responsibility.
After law school, I began serving in the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office in December 2003 in the misdemeanor division and was promoted to the felony division in 2007. I have spent over 20 years holding criminals accountable, pursuing justice for victims, and building strong partnerships with law enforcement. In 2022, I knew the Woodbury County Attorney’s office needed new leadership, so I decided to run for office. The citizens of Woodbury County entrusted me with this position, and now I seek a second term as your Woodbury County Attorney. I live with my wife and five children just outside of Bronson.
(Q) - Why are you seeking another term for the office of Woodbury County Attorney, and what would be your three highest priorities if elected?
(A) - As the Woodbury County Attorney, I am tasked with holding criminals accountable to keep our communities safe. I am running for a second term to build on the foundation that I have laid in my first four years. My priority is and always will be to protect families across Woodbury County. I do that by partnering with law enforcement, opening lines of communication, and engaging with local community leaders. In my first term, I established the strongest partnership with law enforcement that the office has ever had, and I want to maintain that effective working relationship. I have traveled across the county to connect with leaders in every community because their needs and concerns are all different, and I would continue to meet with those leaders. As a result, the office is more responsive and effective in serving Woodbury County families.
(Q) - The County Attorney has considerable discretion when determining whether to file charges, what charges are appropriate and how cases are resolved. What principles have guided your prosecutorial decisions, and how would you balance public safety, accountability and fairness?
(A) - The Iowa Code states that the County Attorney shall diligently enforce the law through prosecution. A crime is a crime and when evidence of one is brought to our office by our partners in law enforcement we take the responsibility seriously because accountability matters and justice on behalf of victims matters. Wisdom and discretion are important when deciding whether to file charges and what should be charged.
When deciding how to resolve a case, some of the things I consider are the strength of the evidence, the nature of the case, a defendant’s criminal history, and input from what the victims want. From there, I decide the best course of action to resolve a case that holds criminals accountable and gets justice for victims, which at times means with certain cases no plea offers are made, and the defendant plead guilty as charged or have trial.
(Q) - Violent crime, drug-related offenses and repeat offenders are concerns for communities throughout Woodbury County. What approach have you taken toward prosecuting serious and repeat offenders, and what role should alternatives to incarceration play for appropriate nonviolent offenders?
(A) - During my 23 years as a prosecutor, I have prosecuted some of the most violent crimes in Woodbury County. I have consistently fought to get violent offenders off the streets and in prison to keep our families safe. In my first term, I created a select team of prosecutors to work with law enforcement to prosecute these crimes and hold criminals accountable.
The role of the criminal justice system is to punish wrong-doers. What that punishment is depends on a lot of different factors such as a defendant’s criminal history, the nature of the crime committed, and what the victim wants. There are cases for which incarceration is the only appropriate punishment, but there are also cases in which a term of probation with other consequences are appropriate. Each case should be resolved after gathering as much information from as many different sources as possible to ensure accountability and justice.
(Q) - Illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, fentanyl and other opioids, continue to affect families and communities. How should the County Attorney’s Office approach drug cases, particularly when distinguishing between individuals involved in trafficking and those whose criminal behavior is connected to addiction?
(A) - Drug abuse, particularly with opioids, is a nationwide issue not unique to Woodbury County. I have seen the abuse destroy lives, families, and harm our communities. The impact is far reaching. Because of its impact on our communities, these types of cases need to be treated seriously. I believe the approach with those who possess and ingest these drugs should be different than those who deal drugs in our communities. I believe with drug related offenses, accountability still remains important. As part of that accountability, it is important to look at available options that can help that individual get on the right track. There may be cases where the appropriate result is probation with strict requirements such as completion of Drug Court. There may also be cases where incarceration is appropriate. Each case involves gathering information from as many different sources as possible to ensure safety for our communities.
(Q) - Crime victims and their families often interact with the criminal justice system during extremely difficult circumstances. What have you done to ensure victims are kept informed, treated respectfully and given an appropriate voice throughout the prosecution of a case?
(A) - I have prosecuted thousands of cases and worked with countless victims. It doesn’t matter the crime – fraud, domestic abuse, burglary, child sexual abuse, armed robbery, or murder. Victims matter. A large part of my job is to help victims or their families as a result of harm done by a defendant. Victims deserve an opportunity to be heard and have their questions answered. My practice has always been to meet with victims or their families so that they better understand the process, know the strengths and weaknesses of a case, understand how or why certain decisions were made, and allow them to share with me their concerns, frustrations, and the situations they face. Most have never had to experience how the criminal justice system works and these conversations help them get through what is usually a long and difficult process.
(Q) - Juvenile cases can involve balancing accountability with the possibility of rehabilitation. What has been your philosophy to guide your office’s handling of juvenile offenders, particularly in cases involving serious or repeated offenses?
(A) - The Iowa Code states that the goal of the juvenile court system is rehabilitation. The prosecutors in our office who handle juvenile delinquency cases work closely with Juvenile Court Services. The Woodbury County Attorney’s Office maintains a good relationship with this department as we work together to provide the maximum chance for rehabilitation that the law requires. Our office relies on the expertise of Juvenile Court Services for what the best options are, which can include in-home services, treatment, residential placement, juvenile detention, and even placement in the State Training School. Parents are always notified and given an opportunity to participate in their child’s case. Their involvement is critical. A parent’s involvement, or lack thereof, can make a big difference in how that juvenile responds. Accountability still matters but with the goal to get that juvenile on a better path for success while also protecting the community.
(Q) - The County Attorney’s Office works closely with law enforcement agencies throughout Woodbury County. How have you built and maintained productive relationships with those agencies while also ensuring that charging decisions and legal judgments remain independent and based on the law and evidence?
(A) - I have the endorsement of over 150 active and retired law enforcement officers from Woodbury County. These brave men and women know what it takes to keep our families safe, and they have placed their trust in me to lead the County Attorney’s Office. This support did not happen overnight. It took years of taking calls at 2:00 a.m., coming to the office on a Sunday afternoon to write search warrants, showing up at the scene of a gruesome homicide to assist and advise, and repeatedly taking on challenging cases. I have established teams of prosecutors assigned to each law enforcement agency to provide assistance, training, and help when the need arises.
My job is to enforce the law. Cases aren’t handled differently because the defendant is in law enforcement. If a conflict of interest exists, we contact a neighboring county for their assistance to ensure objectivity.
(Q) - Residents of smaller communities such as Sergeant Bluff, Salix, Sloan and other areas outside Sioux City may have different public safety concerns and resources than the county’s largest city. How would you ensure the County Attorney’s Office remains responsive and accessible to residents and law enforcement agencies throughout all of Woodbury County?
(A) - The Woodbury County Attorney’s Office is tasked with serving all of Woodbury County. To effectively do that means you have to know and understand the needs and concerns of each community because they are all different. When I first ran in 2022, I made it a priority to be engaged and open the lines of communication with community leaders, something no previous county attorney has ever done. Every year since I have traveled throughout the county, attending city council meetings and community events so I can hear from those leaders and understand what public safety needs or concerns they might have. I have made myself available to them and have been willing to actually listen. I remain committed to engaging with and partnering with leaders across Woodbury County to help ensure every community is a safe and secure place to live, work, and raise a family.
(Q) - Public confidence in the justice system depends in part on consistency, transparency and equal treatment under the law. If reelected, what steps would you take to ensure the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office operates fairly, professionally and transparently, regardless of a person’s background, position or political connections?
(A) - Woodbury County citizens expect a criminal justice system that seeks justice for victims and holds criminals accountable fairly and equally, regardless of race, religion, political affiliation, socioeconomic status, or any other individual characteristic. I take that responsibility very seriously and demand the same of everyone who works in my office because our job is to serve the people of Woodbury County.
I believe accountability matters and every case needs to be treated individually, but I also believe that there needs to be a measure of consistency with similarly situated defendants. To that end, the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office has had sentencing guidelines for many years, which were updated and implemented during my first term to help guide the prosecutors in how to resolve cases with a range of appropriate punishment, while at the same time allowing the prosecutors discretion in resolving a case.
