Opinion ID: 1241194
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Material-Witness Fee.

Text: The county challenges the district court's order that it pay McKinney's material-witness fee. While section 815.6 provides for a material-witness fee, the legislature did not specifically designate the actual governmental entity responsible to pay the fee. Because section 815.6 is silent, we must engage in statutory construction to determine which entity the legislature intended to be responsible. A long-standing principle of statutory construction requires statutes relating to the same subject matter to be considered in light of their common purposes and to be harmonized. See State ex rel. Krupke v. Witkowski, 256 N.W.2d 216, 219 (Iowa 1977); State v. Prybil, 211 N.W.2d 308, 311 (Iowa 1973) (in interpreting a statute, other pertinent statutes are to be considered). There are a number of Iowa Code sections that address material-witness fees, which enlighten our consideration of the entity responsible to pay the fee. First, Iowa Code section 331.756 charges the county attorney with the responsibility to enforce state laws and to prosecute violations of those laws in the name of the state. The county was fulfilling this duty when it investigated and prosecuted the homicide of McKinney's father. Second, Iowa Code sections 602.1302-.1303enacted as part of the 1983 reorganization of Iowa courts to establish a simplified and uniform system of funding [2] demonstrate the legislature's intent for the state to fund the court system and to pay witness fees. Section 602.1302 [3] provides: 1. Except as otherwise provided by sections 602.1303 and 602.1304 or other applicable law, the expenses of operating and maintaining the judicial branch shall be paid out of the general fund of the state from funds appropriated by the general assembly for the judicial branch. State funding shall be phased in as provided in section 602.11101. ... 3. A revolving fund is created in the state treasury for the payment of jury and witness fees.... ... 4. The judicial branch shall reimburse counties for the costs of witness and mileage fees.... Iowa Code § 602.1302. In turn, section 602.11101 provides: The state shall assume responsibility for components of the court system according to the following schedule: 1. On October 1, 1983 the state shall assume the responsibility for ... the costs of prosecution witness fees and mileage and other witness fees and mileage assessed against the prosecution in criminal actions prosecuted under state law as provided in sections 622.69 and 622.72. Sections 622.69 and 622.72 mandate fees to lay and expert witnesses, respectively. Nothing in these enactments excludes material-witness fees from the terms witness fees or other witness fees. In contrast, Iowa Code section 602.1303 is entitled local funding and details the costs that cities and counties are required to bear. That section provides, in relevant part: A county or city shall pay the costs of its depositions and transcripts in criminal actions prosecuted by that county or city and shall pay the court fees and costs provided by law in criminal actions prosecuted by that county or city under county or city ordinance. A county or city shall pay witness fees and mileage in trials of criminal action prosecuted by the county or city under county or city ordinance. Iowa Code § 602.1303. These Code sections suggest the legislature intended for the State to pay the costs of those actions prosecuted under state law while cities and counties bear the costs for actions prosecuted under city and county law. Iowa Code section 815.13, [4] entitled payment of prosecution costs, reinforces this concept, providing in relevant part: The county or city shall pay witness fees and mileage in trials of criminal actions prosecuted by the county or city under county or city ordinance. These fees and costs are recoverable by the county or city from the defendant unless the defendant is found not guilty or the action is dismissed, in which case the state shall pay the witness fees and mileage in cases prosecuted under state law. A third section of the Code also reveals the legislative scheme for counties to be responsible only for costs of prosecution under county ordinances. Section 331.506(2), part of the county home rule implementation, grants the county auditor power to issue warrants to pay witness fees in trials of criminal action prosecuted under county ordinance, but does not further empower the auditor to pay witness fees in trials prosecuted under state law. Iowa Code § 331.506(2). We believe the only way to harmonize the various Code sections is to conclude the legislature intended for the state to pay for material-witness fees, just as it would pay any other witness fee incurred in a prosecution under state law. McKinney was held pursuant to an investigation into the murder of his father. As such, the material-witness fees were incurred vindicating state law. See Iowa Code §§ 707.1-.11 (comprising chapter 707 and defining homicide and related crimes). Finally, it is helpful to consider the purpose of detaining material witnesses. The purpose of the material-witness statute is to secure the presence of a witness at trial. State v. Hernandez-Lopez, 639 N.W.2d 226, 239 (Iowa 2002); see also Barry v. United States ex rel. Cunningham, 279 U.S. 597, 616-17, 49 S.Ct. 452, 456, 73 L.Ed. 867, 873 (1929) (considering the federal power to detain a material witness and determining a material witness may be confined for the purpose of giving his testimony). This process is a vital component of the system of criminal justice. Hernandez-Lopez, 639 N.W.2d at 236. Thus, the ability to detain a material witness is not merely a local law enforcement tool to investigate a crime, which might be most logically borne by the particular investigating agency. Instead, the material-witness statute serves the broader goals of our system of justice by ensuring each citizen meets his public duty to testify to knowledge of a crime. Id. As such, we conclude the legislature intended the State to be responsible for payment of the material-witness fee incurred in this case.