Court Opinion

ID: 9519307
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 01:13:47.82426+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:16.590502
License: Public Domain

SNELL, Justice
(concurring specially).
Although I concur in the result reached in the majority opinion, I write separately to express my disagreement with the analysis used to reach that result.
In Iowa Department of Transportation v. Iowa District Court for Scott County, 587 N.W.2d 781 (Iowa 1998), also filed this month, I set out my views in dissent concerning the effect of the legislature’s repeal of Iowa Code section 321J.4(3)(b) (1995). Applying that analysis to the case at bar, I would affirm the denial of Flam’s application for restoration of his driver’s license.
This case differs from the Scott County case in this way. In the Scott County case, the defendants qualified under the 1995 statute to have their cases heard by the district court, which would then determine if their driver’s licenses should be restored. That is because the two-year waiting period required by section 321 J.4(3)(b) had expired, making them eligible to apply for restoration of their driver’s licenses. The court might not grant their applications because of failure to prove that the four conditions for restoration had been met, but their right to apply was unaffected by repeal of the statute because it was an accrued substantive right that could not be taken away by the repeal.
The operative facts in the case at bar are similar to those presented in Iowa Department of Transportation v. Iowa District Court for Buchanan County, 587 N.W.2d 774 (Iowa 1998), also filed this month. In both cases, the two-year waiting period after which the defendant could apply for restoration of his driving privileges expired after the legislature repealed the restoration provision.
Robert Flam’s drivers license was revoked following his conviction for third offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated on September 20, 1995. The revocation was for six years pursuant to Iowa Code section 321J.4(3)(a). Under Iowa Code section 321J.4(3)(b), Flam became eligible to apply for license restoration on September 20, 1997. However, before that date, the statute under which Flam was seeking relief was repealed, effective on July 1, 1997. The July 1, 1997 date of repeal foreclosed Flam from applying for license restoration because he had not completed the two-year threshold waiting period established by the statute for eligibility.
I believe my analysis of these legal issues as set out in my dissent in the Scott County case accurately applies section 321J.4(3)(b), after its repeal, and results in the conclusion that Flam is not eligible for a legal remedy proffered by that statute. I would affirm.