Opinion ID: 1900995
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: The district court intervenes in a teacher-termination proceeding only to decide questions pertaining to the refusal of witnesses to comply with a subpoena. Iowa Code § 279.16(3) (2005). Normally, the district court is given discretion when deciding disputes that arise over the issuance of administrative subpoenas. See State ex rel. Miller v. Publishers Clearing House, Inc., 633 N.W.2d 732, 736 (Iowa 2001); Portz v. Iowa Bd. of Med. Exam'rs, 563 N.W.2d 592, 592 (Iowa 1997); see also Bousman v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 630 N.W.2d 789, 796 (Iowa 2001). Accordingly, as a discovery proceeding legally before the district court, we review the decision reached for an abuse of discretion. An abuse of discretion occurs when the court exercise[s] [its] discretion on grounds or for reasons clearly untenable or to an extent clearly unreasonable. State v. Maghee, 573 N.W.2d 1, 5 (Iowa 1997). A ground or reason is untenable when it is not supported by substantial evidence or when it is based on an erroneous application of the law. Graber v. City of Ankeny, 616 N.W.2d 633, 638 (Iowa 2000). In other words, a court has no discretion to issue a discovery order that lacks factual support or is in contravention of governing constitutional or statutory provisions. Bousman, 630 N.W.2d at 796.