Opinion ID: 2000808
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Ex Post Facto Argument.

Text: The act of possessing a firearm on which defendant's conviction is based occurred on February 21, 1997. Defendant does not challenge the jury's finding that he did possess a firearm on that date. He seeks reversal based on the claim that, because his convicted-felon status preceded the effective date of the law banning possession of firearms by a felon, application of the statute to him violates the prohibition against ex post facto laws. [1] This court rejected a similar argument involving section 724.26 based on both statutory interpretation and ex post facto theories in State v. Hall, 301 N.W.2d 729, 732-33 (Iowa 1981). Defendant urges consideration of this ex post facto issue anew in light of the decision of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Davis, 936 F.2d 352 (8th Cir.1991). The Davis case considers the application of a Minnesota statute lengthening the time during which convicted felons may not possess firearms. Although the case discusses the application of the Minnesota statute to felons whose convictions antedated its enactment, it does not involve a conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon. Indeed, no state court conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon had occurred as part of the factual setting before the federal court in that case. The court was considering the application of the change in Minnesota law within the context of whether that statutory change rendered defendant's restoration of citizenship with respect to a felony burglary conviction less than complete for purposes of enhancing a sentence for a federal crime. The Davis decision is discussed at length in the Eighth Circuit opinion in United States v. Baca-Valenzuela, 118 F.3d 1223, 1231 (8th Cir.1997). In the latter case, the court declares the applicable ex post facto principle to be [s]o long as the actual crime for which a defendant is being sentenced occurred after the effective date of the new statute, there is no ex post facto violation. Baca-Valenzuela, 118 F.3d at 1231 (quoting United States v. Farmer, 73 F.3d 836, 841 (8th Cir.1996)). That characterization of the ex post facto prohibition is consistent with this court's statement in State v. Pickens, 558 N.W.2d 396, 397 (Iowa 1997), that an ex post facto law is one that impose[s] punishment for an act that was not punishable when committed or that increase[s] the quantum of punishment provided for the crime when it was committed. In further analyzing the ex post facto prohibition in Pickens, we stated that [t]he mark of an ex post facto law is the imposition of what can fairly be designated punishment for past acts. The question in each case where unpleasant consequences are brought to bear upon an individual for prior conduct, is whether the legislative aim was to punish that individual for past activity, or whether the restriction of the individual comes about as a relevant incident to a regulation of a present situation. Pickens, 558 N.W.2d at 398. In applying the test articulated in Pickens, we conclude that section 724.26 is intended to regulate a present situation that includes defendant's continuing status as a convicted felon. Support for our conclusions is found in United States v. Brady, 26 F.3d 282 (2d Cir.1994). There, the defendant argued that to allow his 1951 felony conviction to serve as a basis for establishing violation of a subsequently enacted federal statute banning possession of firearms by felons violated the ex post facto clause. In rejecting this argument, the court stated that, [r]egardless of the date of [defendant's] prior conviction, the crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm was not committed until after the effective date of the statute under which he was convicted. Brady, 26 F.3d at 291. Similar conclusions were reached in United States v. Etheridge, 932 F.2d 318, 323 (4th Cir. 1991), and United States v. Patterson, 820 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th Cir.1987). We are satisfied that these principles govern the disposition of defendant's claims under federal law. To the extent that he also relies on the Iowa Constitution, we hold that a similar rule should prevail. See State v. Garcia, 600 N.W.2d 320, 321 (Iowa 1999) (Iowa Constitution's ex post facto clause is typically interpreted in a manner consistent with the federal constitution). Based on the foregoing discussion and the authorities identified therein, we conclude that defendant's conviction in the present case does not offend against the ex post facto clause of either the federal or Iowa constitutions.