Opinion ID: 2093647
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Cross-appeal Issue on Length of Revocation.

Text: As an issue on cross-appeal, Bruno urges that the length of revocation imposed was longer than permitted by law. He premises this contention on the fact that a prior revocation more than six years prior to the revocation in the present case should not be allowed to influence the length of the current revocation. Under the law in effect prior to July 1, 1997, Bruno's prior conviction for OWI and prior revocation record would have been expunged at the expiration of a six-year period that had expired prior to July 1, 1997. Given that circumstance, Bruno urges that the conviction and revocation record cannot be revived for purposes of enhancing his present revocation. A statutory amendment contained in 1997 Iowa Acts chapter 177, section 4 (codified as Iowa Code section 321J.2(4)(a)), extended the time for expungement from six years to twelve years. Currently, any OWI conviction or deferred judgment that occurs within the previous twelve years counts as a prior offense. Bruno's claim that this is an unlawful retroactive application of the law has been rejected by this court in State v. Garcia, 600 N.W.2d 320, 321 (Iowa 1999), and State v. Stoen, 596 N.W.2d 504, 509 (Iowa 1999). We have considered all issues presented and conclude that the judgment of the district court overturning the DOT's revocation of Bruno's license is reversed. The length of the DOT's suspension, as challenged on Bruno's cross-appeal, is affirmed. REVERSED ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED ON CROSS APPEAL.