Northern Frontiers, Inc. v. State ex rel. Cade

926 P.2d 213, 129 Idaho 437, 1996 Ida. App. LEXIS 109
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 28, 1996
DocketNo. 22056
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 926 P.2d 213 (Northern Frontiers, Inc. v. State ex rel. Cade) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Northern Frontiers, Inc. v. State ex rel. Cade, 926 P.2d 213, 129 Idaho 437, 1996 Ida. App. LEXIS 109 (Idaho Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

PERRY, Judge.

Northern Frontiers, Inc., appeals from an order of the district court affirming the decision of the Director of the Department of Law Enforcement revoking Northern’s liquor license. We affirm.

I.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

On October 22,1991, Northern, doing business as the Atrium, a bar located in Coeur d’Alene, presented a male dance group known as the Dream Warriors. Attending the performance were two agents of the department, who reported conduct of a sexually suggestive nature. Such conduct was alleged to have violated the terms of Northern’s liquor license as defined in Idaho Code Section 23-1010A As a result of the agents’ reports, the department notified Northern of the violations, including permitting the dancers to wear g-strings1 exposing the cleft of buttocks, permitting simulated acts of sexual intercourse to be performed as part of the performance, and allowing the patrons to touch or fondle the genitals of the male dancers.

An administrative hearing was held in May 1992, where testimony was provided by one of the agents and various witnesses called by Northern. Thereafter, the hearing officer prepared findings of fact and conclusions of law. The hearing officer concluded that the facts as found did not establish a violation regarding the alleged exposure of the cleft of buttocks, the performance of any act which simulated sexual intercourse or the touching, caressing or fondling of the dancers’ genitals. The recommendation of the hearing officer was that the liquor license not be revoked.

Following a review of the record made before the hearing officer, the Director of the Department of Law Enforcement adopted the findings of the hearing officer with but one exception, and the director made several additional findings. The director, however, rejected the conclusions of the hearing officer, holding that six violations had taken place, any one of which required a revocation of the liquor license under I.C. § 23-1010A On August 6, 1993, the director issued his order revoking Northern’s liquor license for violations which occurred during the performance of the Dream Warriors.

Northern requested judicial review of the director’s revocation order pursuant to I.C. § 23-1038 and the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act (APA), I.C. §§ 67-5201 to -5292. The district court, in its appellate capacity, upheld the director’s order. On appeal to this Court, Northern asserts that the director’s decision was not reached in conformity with the standards and procedures prescribed by the APA and should, therefore, be reversed.

II.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

We have recently reiterated the standard of review to be applied to agency findings:

[439]*439In a subsequent appeal from the district court’s decision where the district court was acting in its appellate capacity in a review under the APA, the Court of Appeals reviews the agency record independently of the district court’s decision. First Interstate Bank of Idaho, N.A. v. West, 107 Idaho 851, 693 P.2d 1053 (1984); Salinas v. Canyon County, 117 Idaho 218, 786 P.2d 611 (Ct.App.1990); Madsen v. State, Dep’t. of Health & Welfare, 114 Idaho 182, n. 3, 755 P.2d 479, n. 3 (Ct.App.1988). We will defer to the agency’s findings of fact unless those findings are clearly erroneous. Salinas, 117 Idaho at 221, 786 P.2d at 614. As to the weight of the evidence, neither the district court nor this Court on appeal may substitute its judgment for that of the agency. Id.; I.C. § 67-5215(g).

Woodfield v. Board of Professional Discipline, 127 Idaho 738, 905 P.2d 1047 (Ct.App.1995). The Court shall affirm the agency action unless the Court finds that the agency’s findings or conclusions are in violation of the constitution or statutes, in excess of statutory authority granted to the agency, made upon unlawful procedure, unsupported by the record, or are deemed arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion. I.C. § 67-5279.2

III.

ANALYSIS

A. Challenges to I.C. § 23-1010A

Northern challenges I.C. § 23-1010A with regard to the quantum of proof required to revoke the license of any person found to have committed any of the acts proscribed by the statute. Northern argues that revocation “upon sufficient proof to the director” is a subjective standard which cannot be reviewed. Northern argues that, as a result, it has been deprived of its constitutional due process right to meaningful judicial review. Northern also argues that the statute’s alleged unreviewability effectively confers judicial power upon the administrative agency, which constitutes a violation of Article V, Section 2 of the Idaho Constitution.

In instituting proceedings to revoke Northern’s license for violation of the terms of the license, the department acted pursuant to statutory authority found in I.C. § 23-1010A As the proponent of an order seeking sanctions against a private party, the department was obligated to present a prima facie case supporting its allegations that Northern had violated the terms of the license. The guidelines upon which the department’s actions rely authorize revocation “upon sufficient proof to the director” that one or more prohibited acts had been committed by the holder of the license. This standard of proof is akin to the preponderance of the evidence standard generally applied in administrative hearings. See 2 AM. JUR.2d Administrative Law § 363 (1994) (Absent an allegation of fraud or a statute or court rule requiring a higher standard, administrative hearings are governed by a preponderance of the evidence standard.). See also Steadman v. SEC, 450 U.S. 91, 101 S.Ct. 999, 67 L.Ed.2d 69 (1981), reh’g denied, 451 U.S. 933, 101 S.Ct. 2008, 68 L.Ed.2d 318 (1981); Walker v. Board of Pardons, 803 P.2d 1241 (Utah 1990) (board’s findings disclosed sufficient evidence from which it could have found that Walker committed the offenses).

In Idaho, it has been held that unless judicial review is provided from the decision of an administrative body to a court of law, due process has not been satisfied. Graves v. Cogswell, 97 Idaho 716, 717, 552 P.2d 224, 225 (1976). In the case of liquor license revocations, Idaho Code Section 23-1038 directs that the department follow the provisions of the APA, within which are contained the standards governing the right to review and the scope of review applicable to agency action.

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Bluebook (online)
926 P.2d 213, 129 Idaho 437, 1996 Ida. App. LEXIS 109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northern-frontiers-inc-v-state-ex-rel-cade-idahoctapp-1996.