MADISON COUNTY, Iowa — Newly-obtained court documents show temporary Madison County Auditor Matthew Schwarz’s phone was also seized by authorities during a search warrant last Friday night. It is the same night the Madison County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at the Earlham home of Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Heather Stancil. It is unknown if the searches are related.

WHO 13 reached out to Madison County Sheriff Jason Barnes, who declined to comment and deferred to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

In the Madison County District Court filing, attorneys for Schwarz state the phone “contains protected client-attorney information,” as well as “matters of state secrets privilege and national security,” in addition to other protected material. A search warrant was reportedly signed and executed on July 18, according to the filing.

Schwarz is requesting that the warrant be quashed, and/or a protective order be put into place, and a “Special Master” be assigned. The motion asks that any attempt by law enforcement to extract or download information be stopped immediately. If the court were to refuse to quash the warrant, Schwarz is requesting that the court outline protective measures that will be put into place, including the use of an “independent third-party forensic service provider” to conduct the search of his mobile device.

The filing also requests that an emergency hearing be held regarding the request. Schwarz is represented by Alex J. Gilmore of F.M. Brown Law Firm. Neither Schwarz nor his attorney responded to a request for comment on the matter.

According to the public Iowa Online Courts database, his filing was entered roughly 13 minutes after a similar motion was filed on behalf of Stancil on Saturday afternoon.

Stancil’s attorney, Alan Ostergren, submitted an Application for a Protective Order. The filing, which echoes a recent Temporary Restraining Order request that she submitted in Federal court and quickly withdrew, states the phone contains “documents, text messages, and other records protected by the attorney/client privilege.” Stancil allegedly communicated with her attorney through her cell phone regarding a Federal lawsuit she recently filed against the Sheriff after he announced he was investigating her for alleged election misconduct. It also points to “legislative privilege” related to Stancil’s duties as a member of the Madison County Board of Supervisors, and her ability to engage in confidential communications with her constituents.

As with Schwarz, Stancil is requesting a hearing with the court in hopes of establishing protective measures surrounding some of the data on her phone, possibly including the appointment of an outside law enforcement agency, a Special Master, or similar measures.

The state filing does not mention protection for her county-issued laptop, which was also confiscated and mentioned in her now moot Federal filing. Stancil’s attorney previously declined to comment on the unfolding situation.

Neither filing had been processed by the Madison County Clerk of Courts as of Friday evening. A representative from the Iowa Judicial Branch confirmed to WHO 13 that neither one had been docketed. Due to this, no case number had been assigned, and it was unclear when the requested emergency hearings might take place.

This is just the latest hiccup surrounding the County Auditor’s Seat. The elected Auditor resigned after four months that were marred by controversy, including multiple efforts to hire her former campaign manager in various positions. Schwarz was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in a 2-1 vote the day before her resignation went into effect. He was sworn in the following week.

Almost immediately, a bipartisan group of citizens named the Madison County Civic Alliance announced they would begin collecting signatures to petition for a Special Election. That petition garnered well over the necessary amount needed and was accepted by the Board earlier this week during a meeting where tensions boiled over between Stancil and County Attorney Stephen Swanson during a public argument over Schwarz. The disagreement stemmed from a confusing public notice that was recently posted to the front page of the Auditor’s website, and which stated there was a “vacancy” in the office.