Opinion ID: 1745624
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Heading: Mandatory or Directory Statute Permitting Phone Call.

Text: Iowa Code section 804.20 imposes a duty upon police officers to allow a person in custody to telephone a family member or attorney without unnecessary delay after arrival at the place of detention. The statutory mandate is that the officer shall allow the requested telephone call. In drafting the interpretive provisions of our Code, the legislature has determined that, The word `shall' imposes a duty. Iowa Code § 4.1(36)(a) (1987). In the context of administrative proceedings related to license revocations under chapter 321J, however, this court has determined that the duty imposed may be either directory or mandatory. Taylor v. Department of Transp., 260 N.W.2d 521, 522 (Iowa 1977). The dichotomy between a mandatory and a directory statute relates to whether a failure to perform the duty will have the effect of invalidating the governmental action that the requirement affects. Id. at 523. In determining whether a statute is directory or mandatory, we look to the purpose the statute was designed to serve. See Downing v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., 415 N.W.2d 625, 628 (Iowa 1987). When the duty imposed is not essential to the main statutory objective, the provision is directory and failure to perform the duty will not affect the validity of subsequent proceedings unless prejudice is shown. Id. When the duty imposed by the provision is essential to effect the main purpose of the statute, however, the provision is mandatory, and failure to perform the duty will invalidate subsequent proceedings. Id. The State contends that the duty imposed by section 804.20 is directory. It bases this contention upon our application of the principles just cited to determine that the main statutory objective of chapter 321J is to remove dangerous, legally intoxicated drivers from the state's highways. Id. at 628. Since the duty to provide an attorney is not consistent with the main purpose of chapter 321J, it concludes, the duty is directory in the absence of a demonstration of prejudice. The State's argument, however, focuses upon the wrong statute. In order to determine whether the duty imposed by section 804.20 is mandatory or directory, we must look to the main purpose of that statute. The main purpose behind enactment of section 804.20 is apparent on the face of the statute. It is to provide an individual arrested the opportunity to consult with counsel or a family member after he or she has been arrested. We have held that this statutory right is available in the context of our implied consent law, subject to certain limitations. See State v. Vietor, 261 N.W.2d 828, 831-32 (Iowa 1978). Hence, the duty to provide the opportunity to make that call is mandatory. An individual who is refused this right, upon proper request, is under no obligation to show that prejudice resulted in order to challenge a driver's license revocation.