IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA NO. 14-1851 ELECTRONICALLY FILED MAR 11, 2016 CLERK OF SUPREME COURT STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. PATRICK JOHN LETSCHER, Defendant/Appellant. APPEAL FROM THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR WINNEBAGO COUNTY HON. GREGG R. ROSENBLADT, Judge BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE IOWA COUNTY ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION ALAN R. OSTERGREN Muscatine County Attorney 420 East Third Street Muscatine, Iowa 52761 (563) 263-0382 (563) 263-4944 (facsimile) aostergren@co.muscatine.ia.us Attorney for Amicus Curiae
Table of Contents Table of Authorities... 3 Identity of amicus curiae and interest in the case... 4 Monetary obligations imposed against a criminal defendant are due immediately and may be collected through any means available to a judgment creditor. The form executed by the defendant when he posted his cash bond accurately informed him of the disposition of those funds. Has the defendant demonstrated that he is entitled to the return of the money?... 5 Preservation of error... 5 Standard of review.... 5 Argument.... 6 Conclusion... 10 Certificate of Compliance... 12 2
Table of Authorities Cases Estate of Lyon v. Heemstra, 2009 Iowa Ct. App. (08-0934)... 7 Meier v. Senecaut, 641 N.W.2d 532, 537 (Iowa 2002)... 5 State v. Briggs, 666 N.W.2d 541, 549 (Iowa 2000)... 6 Statutes Iowa Code 602.8107... 8 Iowa Code 811.1(a)(4)... 6 Iowa Code 909.3(1)... 8 Iowa Code 909.6... 7 Iowa Code 909.8... 8 Iowa Code 910.7A(1)... 8 Iowa Code 910.7A(2)... 8 Iowa Code 910.9... 8 Rules Iowa R. App. P. 6.907.... 5 Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.26(1)(d)... 8 Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.26(1)(e)... 9 3
Identity of amicus curiae and interest in the case The Iowa County Attorneys Association (ICAA) is a nonpartisan association of Iowa s county attorneys and their assistants. The county attorney is the chief law enforcement officer for his or her county. The primary purposes of the association are to encourage and maintain close coordination among county attorneys and to promote the uniform and efficient administration of the criminal and juvenile justice systems of Iowa. Iowa s county attorneys have substantial interest in this litigation. Every criminal case comes with it a decision on the conditions of release for the defendant. Imposition of a cash bond is part of the decision-making process. It is our responsibility as county attorneys to execute the judgments of the Court with respect to the imposition of a fine and the collection of delinquent court debt. 4
Monetary obligations imposed against a criminal defendant are due immediately and may be collected through any means available to a judgment creditor. The form executed by the defendant when he posted his cash bond accurately informed him of the disposition of those funds. Has the defendant demonstrated that he is entitled to the return of the money? Preservation of error. Error was not preserved. Although raised as a challenge to an illegal sentence (exempt, of course, from preservation of error requirements) Letscher is actually challenging the actions of the clerk of court collateral to the imposition of sentence in his case. His claim should have therefore been raised in the district court. Meier v. Senecaut, 641 N.W.2d 532, 537 (Iowa 2002). Standard of review. Letscher raises a claim of statutory interpretation. This Court reviews such claims for correction of errors at law. Iowa R. App. P. 6.907. 5
Argument. The State of Iowa and the Court of Appeals majority answer the question presented by this case on the basis of Letscher s voluntary consent to the application of his bond money to his financial obligations. This consent, they reason, validates the district court s sentencing order. Letscher, and the dissenting judge in the Court of Appeals, reject the notion that the bond form was a voluntary act. After all, what is voluntary about being required to pay money to get out of jail? This is not really a case about bail. And to the extent that the district court erred it was in form, not substance. To understand why, we need to understand how the various statutory provisions of the Iowa Criminal Code relate to each other at the moment a criminal defendant s appearance bond is exonerated. When a criminal defendant is ordered to post an appearance bond it is done to encourage his appearance at future court proceedings. Iowa Code 811.1(a)(4), State v. Briggs, 666 N.W.2d 541, 549 (Iowa 2000). Letscher claims in his brief that the code requires these funds to be returned to 6
the person who posted the funds. (Appellant s brief, p. 22). In support of his argument Letscher cites the unpublished decision of Estate of Lyon v. Heemstra, 2009 Iowa Ct. App. (08-0934). Estate of Lyon stands for the proposition that a wrongful death judgment could not be executed against funds which had been posted to secure the release of the slayer during his criminal prosecution. There is no need to relate at length the arguments made before the Court of Appeals. Letscher s argument may essentially be understood to mean that the provisions of Chapter 811 require the return of his bond money notwithstanding any other provision of law. This is error. Let s start with criminal fines. A fine shall have the force and effect of a judgment against the defendant for the amount of the fine. Iowa Code 909.6. The law relating to judgment liens, executions, and other process available to creditors for the collection of debts shall be applicable to such judgments; provided, that no law exempting the personal property of the defendant from any lien or legal process shall be applicable to such judgments. Id. 7
All fines imposed by the court shall be paid on the day the fine is imposed, and the person shall be instructed to pay such fines with the office of the clerk of the district court on the date of imposition. Iowa Code 909.3(1). These rules also apply to the surcharges imposed on criminal defendants under chapter 911. Iowa Code 909.8. Victim restitution is also a judgment against the defendant. Iowa Code 910.7A(1). It may be enforced in the same manner as a civil judgment. Iowa Code 910.7A(2). The clerk of court is responsible for disbursement of monies for restitution before the clerk allocates funds for other purposes. Iowa Code 910.9 (listing prioritization process). The clerk is required to collect court debt and disburse it to the appropriate entity. Iowa Code 602.8107. The Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure contemplate the very kind of order as was entered by the district court. The court is to issue an execution for payment of a fine as upon a judgment in a civil case. Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.26(1)(d). Although the rule uses only the term fine it is clear from context that this refers to any monetary provision of the judgment order. 8
Compare, Iowa R. Crim. P. 2.26(1)(e) ( Execution in other cases. When the judgment is for the abatement or removal of a nuisance, or for anything other than confinement or payment of money by the defendant ) (emphasis added). These provisions justify the disposition of Letscher s appearance bond to meet his financial obligations. Letscher s argument puts form over substance. The purpose of the various techniques available to a judgment creditor are to get the creditor in possession of the monies owed by the judgment debtor. But here, at the moment the appearance bond was exonerated the judgment creditor (the clerk of court on behalf of the state) was already in possession of the funds. What more needed to be done? This situation is analogous to one commonly experienced by criminal justice practitioners. Imagine a criminal defendant who is incarcerated in the county jail while his case is pending. During this time period authorities in a different county file charges against him. They obtain an arrest warrant which is lodged as a detainer against the defendant. The 9
defendant then gets the first case dismissed. The court in that first case therefore orders him to be released. Does the defendant get to go home? Hardly. The defendant will be transported to the other county and face adjudication of that case. The fact that the court in the first case ordered his release does not prevent his detention in the second case. This is no different than what happened with Letscher s bond money. It was held by the clerk of court as bond until other provisions of law applied to it. This Court does not need to explore whether the bond form was a voluntary act because it is irrelevant to the disposition of the money. To the extent that the district court made any error it was in the use of the word forfeited to describe what was happening to the money. The correct word should have been attached. Conclusion The judgment of the district court should be affirmed. 10
Respectfully submitted, IOWA COUNTY ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION By: /s/ ALAN R. OSTERGREN Alan R. Ostergren Muscatine County Attorney Chair, ICAA Amicus Curiae Committee 420 East Third Street Muscatine, Iowa 52761 (563) 263-0382 (563) 263-4944 (facsimile) aostergren@co.muscatine.ia.us 11
Certificate of Compliance This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of Iowa R. App. Pro. 6.903(1)(g)(1) because it contains 1200 words, excluding parts of the brief exempted by that rule. This brief complies with the typeface requires of Iowa R. App. Pro. 6.903(1)(e) and the type style requirements of Iowa R. App. Pro. 6.903(1)(f) because it has been prepared in a proportionally spaced typeface using Microsoft Word 2010 in Bookman Old School, 14 point type. /s/ Alan R. Ostergren Muscatine County Attorney