State v. Dowell

297 N.W.2d 93, 1980 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 921
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedSeptember 17, 1980
Docket62727
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 297 N.W.2d 93 (State v. Dowell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Dowell, 297 N.W.2d 93, 1980 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 921 (iowa 1980).

Opinions

McCORMICK, Justice.

The question here is whether a person arrested for an alleged parole violation has a right to have the proceedings against him dismissed with prejudice when the arresting officer does not take him “before a magistrate without unnecessary delay for an initial appearance” as required by § 908.2, The Code. We granted discretionary review of a magistrate’s order overruling defendant David James Dowell’s motion to dismiss alleging such a right. We affirm.

The relevant facts are undisputed. An information charging defendant with parole violation for changing his address without notifying his parole officer was filed June 2, 1978, and a warrant was issued. Defendant was arrested on Tuesday, October 31, 1978, and incarcerated in the Des Moines county jail at approximately 7:30 p. m. that date. On the following day, November 1, he was taken to the hospital at approximately 3:30 p. m. and was returned to jail an hour later. He was not taken before a magistrate until approximately 3:00 p. m. on November 2, 1978, almost 44 hours after his original incarceration. A magistrate had been available during the regular working hours on November 1 and 2.

Two parole officers were present at defendant’s initial appearance before the magistrate on November 2. On that occasion the magistrate allowed them to amend the information to add allegations of three additional parole violations, one accusing defendant of leaving the state without permission, and the other two accusing him of committing criminal law violations. The magistrate furnished defendant with a copy of the information as amended and advised him of his rights. The public defender was appointed to represent him, and the matter was continued until 9:00 a. m. the next day. When that time came, defendant filed his motion to dismiss the information based on the alleged violation of section 908.2 in failing to bring him before the magistrate for his initial appearance without unnecessary delay. After hearing, the magistrate found the delay was unnecessary within the meaning of section 908.2 but held dismissal with prejudice was not the right remedy and therefore overruled the motion. We subsequently granted defendant’s application for discretionary review.

Defendant makes the same contentions here that he did before the magistrate. In resistance, the State asserts section 908.2 was not violated but that, if it was, the magistrate was correct in refusing to dismiss the information with prejudice.

I. Whether section 908.2 was violated. Code chapter 908 is a legislative response to Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972). It establishes procedures for parole revocation which are based on those provided in chapter 804 for the arrest and disposition of accused persons. J. Yeager and R. Carlson, 4 Iowa Practice: Criminal Law and Procedure § 1751 (1979). In Morrissey, the Supreme Court recognized two important stages in the typical process of parole revocation: “The first stage occurs when the parolee is arrested and detained, usually at the di[96]*96rection of his parole officer. The second occurs when parole is formally revoked.” 408 U.S. at 485, 92 S.Ct. at 2602, 33 L.Ed.2d at 496.

Section 908.2 relates to the first stage. In relevant part it provides: “An officer making an arrest of an alleged parole violator shall take the arrested person before a magistrate without unnecessary delay for an initial appearance.” The Supreme Court in Morrissey held that a probable cause determination should be made in the first stage of the proceeding. The Court reasoned as follows:

There is typically a substantial time lag between the arrest and the eventual determination by the parole board whether parole should be revoked. Additionally, it may be that the parolee is arrested at a place distant from the state institution, to which he may be returned before the final decision is made concerning revocation. Given these factors, due process would seem to require that some minimal inquiry be conducted at or reasonably near the place of the alleged parole violation or arrest and as promptly as convenient after arrest while information is fresh and sources are available.

(emphasis supplied). 408 U.S. at 485, 92 S.Ct. at 2602, 33 L.Ed.2d at 496.

The requirement of section 908.2 that the initial appearance before a magistrate occur “without unnecessary delay” implements the due process requirement that the probable cause inquiry be made “as promptly as ■ convenient after arrest.” However, nothing in chapter 908 defines “unnecessary delay.”

The term “unnecessary delay” is defined in Iowa R.Crim.P. l(2)(c) as “any unexcused delay longer than twenty-four hours, and consists of a shorter period whenever a magistrate is accessible and available.” This definition is applicable to indictable offense procedures. Iowa R.Crim.P. 1(1). As such, it fixes the time limit for the initial appearance before a committing magistrate of a person arrested for an indictable offense. Rule 2(1) provides in part: “An officer making an arrest ... shall take the arrested person without unnecessary delay before a committing magistrate as provided by law.”

The State argues that the definition in rule l(2)(c) is inapplicable under section 908.2 because not expressly referred to in that section. Because the section does refer to rule 26, the State asserts the legislature would also have mentioned rule l(2)(c) if it intended the definition to be applicable. We do not agree. Because the parole revocation procedure is modeled on the precon-viction procedure, it is reasonable to believe the legislature intended the definition of “unnecessary delay” in indictable offense proceedings to apply in parole revocation proceedings. The language is strikingly similar in each situation. Use of “unnecessary delay” as a term of art implies consistency of meaning, and the purpose of the procedure in each situation is to require an early determination of probable cause for detaining the accused person on the charge.

Applicability of the definition is also indicated by the fact the rule and statute were adopted by the legislature at the same time. See 1976 Session, 66th G.A., ch. 1245(3), § 802; id. ch. 1245(2), § 1301, rule 1 as amended by 1977 Session, 67th G.A., ch. 153, § 2. The rule that statutes relating to the same subject matter are to be construed together has particular force when they were passed in the same legislative session. State v. Schmitt, 290 N.W.2d 24, 26 (Iowa 1980) (holding the definition of “arrest” in section 804.5 applies to the term in Iowa R.Crim.P. 27(2)(a)).

Upon this reasoning, we hold that the definition of “unnecessary delay” in rule l(2)(c) applies to the same term in section 908.2.

Because the delay in the present case was 44 hours and no excuse was shown, the magistrate was correct in holding that defendant’s right to be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay was violated.

II. Whether the revocation proceeding should have been dismissed with prejudice. [97]*97Defendant contends the violation of section 908.2 requires that the parole revocation proceeding be dismissed with prejudice, relying on an alleged analogy to violations of an accused’s rights to a speedy trial assured under U.S.Const. amend. VI, Iowa Const, art. I, § 10, and Iowa R.Crim.P. 27(2). However the situation is not analogous.

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State v. Dowell
297 N.W.2d 93 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
297 N.W.2d 93, 1980 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 921, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dowell-iowa-1980.