WAUKON - Agriprocessors and five high-level employees charged with thousands of child labor violations pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and asked for jury trials.

None of the defendants appeared in court. Agriprocessors Inc.; Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, 80, owner; Sholom Rubashkin, 48, manager and former CEO; Elizabeth Billmeyer, 48, human resources manager; and Karina Freund, 29, and Laura Althouse, 38, mid-level human resources managers, submitted written pleas before an initial appearance at the Allamakee County Courthouse.

Last week the Iowa Attorney General's office filed 9,311 criminal misdemeanor child labor violations against the defendants.

Defense attorneys predicted a trial would not start for months. Allamakee County Magistrate Barry Mueller hopes one will begin sometime next spring.

During the hearing, Mueller encouraged the prosecution to provide evidence, including names of the minors listed in the complaint, to the defense sometime in the next two weeks.

Attorneys from both sides expressed serious concern over the number of minors named in the complaint who remain in the country, and if any of them are scheduled for deportation.

Deputy Attorney General Thomas H. Miller said he hopes to maintain access to the juveniles to more effectively prove the state's case.

The attorney representing Sholom Rubashkin said it is a concern that some of the deported juveniles may been able to provide evidence to aid the defense.

"We have some serious concerns that some of these folks aren't even in the country," said F. Montgomery Brown, a West Des Moines attorney. "We have to find out who these people are, and when they say they worked there, and what did they tell (human resources)."

He also questioned the number of counts charged against each of the defendants.

"If the (judge) reads one instruction per minute for eight hours, it would take 19 days to read the instructions," he said. "Maybe something's got to give."

Attorney Mark Weinhardt said his client, Aaron Rubashkin, rarely traveled to Postville during the time of the alleged violations, and could not have played any role in hiring his company's workers.

Weinhardt said he plans to file a motion to dismiss the case, though he did not detail the legal challenges he might employ.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, he said he anticipates an opening to challenge the complaint because a criminal child labor case has not reached an Iowa court in decades.

"This complaint raises a lot of unresolved legal issues," he said.

Robert Rigg, director of the Criminal Defense Program at Drake University Law School, said defense attorneys could claim selective prosecution, which would accuse the state of enforcing a little-used law.

"If you pick out a seldom, if ever, used statue, dust it off, and say, 'ah-ha' - that could be a ground he would raise," he said.

Rigg said he anticipates defense attorneys to file a litany of challenges - something virtually unheard of in simple misdemeanor cases.

"In case your client loses, then you have got something to appeal," he said.

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.