Opinion ID: 2221117
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Authority of Court to Compel Testimony Under Grant of Immunity in a Civil Action.

Text: Girdler's first contention on appeal is that the grant of authority contained in Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 19(3) with respect to orders of immunity for purposes of compelling testimony is only applicable to criminal prosecutions. He notes that not only was the procedure in the present case invoked for purposes of compelling testimony in a civil action, but, in addition, the attorney general is precluded from maintaining a criminal action on the same facts by virtue of the election of remedies provisions contained in Iowa Code section 553.15. The State, in response to the contentions of Girdler, asserts that the language of criminal rule 19(3) does not limit its application to answers sought to be compelled from witnesses in criminal actions. Moreover, the State contends that such limitation does not necessarily follow from the fact that the procedure for granting immunity is set forth as part of the Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure seek to provide procedures applicable to indictable offenses. Iowa R.Crim.P. 1(1). We believe, however, that this circumstance does not necessarily aid Girdler in his challenge to the court's use of rule 19(3) in the present case. This rule is of legislative origin and must be interpreted as any other statute. Courts will construe a statute in conformity with its dominating general purpose and will read the text in light of overall context. State v. Bishop, 257 Iowa 336, 340, 132 N.W.2d 455, 458 (1965); Fabricius v. Montgomery Elevator Co., 254 Iowa 1319, 1322-23, 121 N.W.2d 361, 364 (1963). The object of statutory interpretation is to discover the true intention of the legislature considering the clearly-stated objects and purposes involved. Lau v. City of Oelwein, 336 N.W.2d 202, 203 (Iowa 1983); Dingman v. City of Council Bluffs, 249 Iowa 1121, 1127, 90 N.W.2d 742, 746 (1958). The court should, when possible, construe a statute so as to give an intelligent and meaningful purpose to its provisions and in so doing may assume that the legislature realized the need therefor. In re Klug's Estate, 251 Iowa 1128, 1132, 104 N.W.2d 600, 603 (1960). The inclusion of rule 19(3) in the Rules of Criminal Procedure is doubtless explained by the fact that it is ordinarily within a criminal context that the subject of immunity will arise. Even where the testimony sought to be compelled is for use in a civil proceeding, the resulting immunity from criminal prosecution which accompanies the compelled civil testimony has a decidedly criminal application. We believe that such application is an adequate explanation for placing these rules alongside other rules relating to indictable offenses even though the subject matter involved also affects civil cases. The underlying policy of the rule is based upon the realization that certain designated representatives of the executive branch of government should be given the authority to obtain immunity through judicial proceedings for recalcitrant witnesses in those instances where it is in the state's best interests so to do. One of the standards which rule 19(3) provides for making this determination is that justice and the public interest require the testimony, documents or evidence in question. The needs of justice and the public interest are surely not limited to criminal prosecutions nor does the role of the attorney general in seeking to foster the needs of justice and the public interest fall exclusively within the ambit of the criminal law. Upon our balancing of the policy considerations involved, we believe that the interpretation which the State advocates is fully consistent with the policies of the legislation and is in no way precluded by its language. In identifying the type of proceeding to which the compelled testimony must relate, rule 19(3) is broadly worded so as to embrace any judicial proceeding. We therefore hold that the district court acted within the authority of rule 19(3) with respect to the immunity granted to Theodore Girdler, Jr. in the present proceeding. Support for the foregoing views is found in United States v. Cappetto, 502 F.2d 1351 (7th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 925, 95 S.Ct. 1121, 43 L.Ed.2d 395 (1975) (defendants in civil action properly compelled to answer questions upon grant of immunity); and Smith v. Superior Court, 17 Ariz.App. 79, 495 P.2d 519 (1972) (term judicial proceeding in immunity statute encompasses every proceeding before a competent court).