Court Opinion

ID: 9690622
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 19:26:57.79546+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:00.250292
License: Public Domain

CADY, J.
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. The majority declares the existence of an ambiguity in the statute based upon two possible interpretations, and concludes we must adopt one interpretation over the other because the other interpretation would render the statute unconstitutional. First, this approach is based on the false premise that the interpretation according to the plain language of the statute would be unconstitutional. Second, as a method of statutory interpretation, it fails to consider other interpretive aids and fails to scrutinize the language of the statute to reveal the intent of our legislature. I believe we are required to interpret this statute as it is written to permit courts to determine the duration of no-contact orders at the conclusion of the underlying criminal case, including those instances when the case concludes with acquittal. The failure to interpret the statute in this manner means it is doomed to fail to achieve its goal of protecting victims of harassment and stalking.
The majority concludes the statute would be unconstitutional if interpreted to permit courts to extend no-contact orders in the event of an acquittal. The majority reasons this interpretation of the statute would violate due process because such a grant of power to the court to continue the no-contact order following an acquittal has no standard to support the adjudication, while the statute is able to utilize the reasonable-doubt standard from the criminal case to support the continuation of no-contact orders in the event of a disposition involving guilt. In other words, the per-
ceived vagueness is overcome by the prior finding of guilt under the reasonable-doubt standard. However, this approach overlooks that no-contact orders under the statute are collateral matters to the underlying criminal proceeding, entered by the court based upon a standard much less exacting than the standard to support guilt in a criminal case. Thus, an acquittal of the underlying criminal charge does not undermine or affect the validity of the prior no-contact order, which is civil in nature and based only upon a determination of probable cause and a need to protect the safety of another. Surely, evidence that does not establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and results in an acquittal in a criminal case can support relief in a civil case. See State v. One Certain Conveyance, 316 N.W.2d 675, 678 (Iowa 1982) (“ Tn criminal actions the burden of proof is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” while in civil actions the burden is “proof by a preponderance of the evidence.” Therefore, an acquittal in the former action serves to show only that the government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime. This does not mean that the more lenient civil burden of preponderance of the evidence could not have been satisfied. Therefore, the government in a subsequent civil action should not be precluded from attempting to prove an issue by a preponderance of the evidence merely because it did not sustain the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” (quoting Allan D. Vestal, Issue Preclusion and Criminal Prosecutions, 65 Iowa L.Rev. 281, 335 (1980))). Moreover, due process is not offended because the statute fails to specify a specific standard to support the continuance of a no-contact order under one circumstance (acquittal), while it can rely on the criminal burden of proof to support the continuance of a no-contact order under another circumstance (guilt).
*544We are obligated to presume statutes to be constitutional, and we are further obligated to give them any reasonable construction possible to make them constitutional. State v. Millsap, 704 N.W.2d 426, 436 (Iowa 2005); see also State v. White, 545 N.W.2d 552, 557 (Iowa 1996) (stating a party claiming a statute is void for vagueness “bears a heavy burden to show the statute ‘clearly, palpably, and without a doubt, infringes the constitution’ ” (citations omitted)); In re Hochmuth, 251 N.W.2d 484, 488-89 (Iowa 1977) (“[A] statute otherwise unconstitutional because of vagueness may be salvaged by a limiting interpretation which brings the application of the statute within constitutional bounds.”). In this light, it is permissible to draw upon other statutes to clarify how a statute operates in order to save it from attack based, on uncertainty. 1A Norman J. Singer, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 21.16, at 226-28 (6th ed.2002) [hereinafter Singer]; accord Merritt v. Council Bluffs Civil Serv. Comm’n, 458 N.W.2d 867, 869 (Iowa Ct.App.1990) (“[I]f a statute’s meaning is fairly ascertainable by reference to ... similar statutes, ... then a statute will not be considered unconstitutionally vague.” (citing State v. McKee, 392 N.W.2d 493, 494 (Iowa 1986); Williams v. Osmundson, 281 N.W.2d 622, 625 (Iowa 1979))). This means we may look beyond the statute to determine the standard of proof when it is absent from the statute. Perez v. Cleveland, 78 Ohio St.3d 376, 678 N.E.2d 537, 540 (1997) (citation omitted).
In this case, the vagueness claim exists because the statute directs the court to determine if the “no-contact order should be modified or terminated” upon final disposition of the criminal case, but then fails to specify a burden of proof. Iowa Code § 708.12(2). The majority is willing to draw upon the criminal standard when the final disposition is based on guilt to sidestep the statutory uncertainty, but is unwilling to further draw upon the civil standard of a preponderance of the evidence applicable to similar injunctions under the statute governing domestic abuse, as well as injunctions in general. See id. § 236.4(1) (imposing preponderance-of-evidence standard in domestic abuse proceedings where relief includes protective orders); Kennedy v. Oleson, 251 Iowa 418, 421, 100 N.W.2d 894, 896 (1960) (burden of proof for an injunction is preponderance of evidence); 42 Am.Jur.2d Injunction § 265, at 848 (2000) (same). However, under the standards applied to vagueness claims involving statutes pertaining to civil matters, other than First Amendment claims perhaps, we are obligated to read the appropriate standard of proof into the statute to save it from attack. See MRM, Inc. v. City of Davenport, 290 N.W.2d 338, 344-45 (Iowa 1980) (“Ordinarily a ‘significantly higher’ standard of certainty is required when a vagueness challenge is made in the context of a criminal prosecution than in situations involving civil remedies.” (citing Williams, 281 N.W.2d at 625; Knight v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 269 N.W.2d 430, 432 (Iowa 1978); State ex rel. Turner v. Koscot Interplanetary, Inc., 191 N.W.2d 624, 629 (Iowa 1971))); accord Winters v. New York, 333 U.S. 507, 515, 68 S.Ct. 665, 670, 92 L.Ed. 840, 849 (1948) (“The standards of certainty in statutes punishing for offenses is higher than in those depending primarily upon civil sanction for enforcement.”).
This means we can safely declare that the preponderance-of-the-evidenee standard applies under the statute to guide the court in its statutory obligation “upon final disposition in a criminal or civil action” to “make a determination whether the no-contact order should be modified or terminated.” Iowa Code § 708.12(2). Moreover, this preponderance-of-the-evidenee standard applies whether the final disposi*545tion is an acquittal or some form of guilt.1 Thus, under the statute, the court considers the evidence presented in the criminal or juvenile proceeding to decide if the no-contact order should be modified or terminated in accordance with those standards applicable to continuing, modifying, or dissolving other injunctions. See Uncle B’s Bakery, Inc. v. O’Rourke, 938 F.Supp. 1450, 1459 (N.D.Iowa 1996) (court would not vacate temporary injunction unless there no longer was any threat of harm). The task in this case is not to declare the statute to be unconstitutional but to strive to give it a construction to uphold it, rather than to defeat it.
In addition to its vagueness reasoning, the majority also bases its conclusion on the speculation that the legislature’s failure to include a “framework to continue the no-contact order” upon an acquittal “could evidence a legislative intent that the court does not have the authority to continue the no-contact order when it acquits the defendant.” The principle of statutory interpretation impliedly relied on by the majority is expressio unius est exclusio alterius. See Black’s Law Dictionary 1635 (7th ed.1999) (defining the maxim as “[t]he expression of one thing is the exclusion of another”); accord Locate.Plus.Com, Inc. v. Iowa Dep’t of Transp., 650 N.W.2d 609, 618 (Iowa 2002) (“Generally, the express mention of one thing in a statute implies the exclusion of others.” (citing Callender v. Skiles, 591 N.W.2d 182, 186 (Iowa 1999))). It means that when a statute designates its manner of performance and operation as to one set of facts, there is an inference that all omissions are understood as exclusions. 2A Singer § 47.23, at 304-07; see, e.g., Dotson v. City of Ames, 251 Iowa 467, 472, 101 N.W.2d 711, 714 (1960) (“[B]y granting control over animals running at large the legislature has clearly excluded power over those confined.”). As applied to this case, this maxim would mean that because section 708.12 provides the specific circumstances when a no-contact order is required to be continued for five years, the legislature impliedly intended to prohibit the continuation of the order in any other circumstance. This maxim, on the surface, tends to support the result reached by the majority.
Yet, the maxim is only a rule of statutory construction; it is not a rule of law. See 2A Singer § 47:23, at 315 (“This rule is a rule of statutory construction and not a rule of law.”); id. § 47:24, at 319 (“It acts merely as an aid to determine legislative intent and does not constitute a rule of law.”); id. § 47:25, at 325-26 (“ ‘The maxim ... requires great caution in its application, and in all cases is applicable only under certain conditions.’ ”); id. § 47:25, at 332 (“The maxim is not a rule of substantive law but one of statutory construction and thus should be used with care.”). Moreover, the application of the maxim in this ease would render the following sentence in the statute a nullity: “Upon final disposition of the criminal or juvenile court action, the court shall make a determination whether the no-contact order should *546be modified or terminated.” Iowa Code § 708.12(2). “ ‘It is an elementary rule of construction that effect must be given, if possible, to every word, clause and sentence of a statute.’ ” 2A Singer § 46:06, at 181; accord Miller v. Marshall County, 641 N.W.2d 742, 749 (Iowa 2002) (“Each term [in a statute] is to be given effect, so that no single part is rendered insignificant or superfluous.” (Citation omitted.)). If the legislature only intended no-contact orders to be modified by requiring them to be continued for five years, and that this action only could be taken in the event of a disposition of guilt, there would be no reason to include the preceding sentence directing the court to decide if no-contact orders entered at the initial appearance should be continued upon final disposition of the underlying case. We are obligated to give effect to all provisions in interpreting the statute. Id.; 2A Singer § 46:06, at 181.
From my reading of section 708.12, it is apparent that the legislature wanted the court to determine the duration (and make any modification) of all no-contact orders in all instances at the conclusion of the underlying case. Certainly, the safety of others was the paramount concern of the legislature in providing for a no-contact order, and this concern supports this approach. Once the court has determined at the beginning of the case that the safety of another is in jeopardy, and that the person needs the protection of a no-contact order, such findings are not diminished, in any fashion, because the offender is ultimately found not to have committed the underlying crime beyond a reasonable doubt. An acquittal in a criminal case in no way means that the victim is no longer at risk or that there was no probable cause that the defendant engaged in harmful conduct to support safety concerns of the victim. Thus, in addition to instructing the court to determine the duration of the no-contact order at the conclusion of the underlying case, the statute merely provides that if the defendant is in fact found guilty of a crime, then the no-contact order must continue for five years even if the defendant would be monitored on probation. It appears the legislature include the five-year provision for two reasons: (1) to provide long-term protection for a victim in those circumstances when the defendant’s conduct constituted a crime, and (2) to make certain courts would not terminate a no-contact order simply because the defendant would be supervised on probation. In other words, the legislature wanted to make certain that probation could not be used as a justification or basis to terminate a no-contact order when the court performs its duty to “determine whether the no-contact order should be modified or terminated” upon final disposition of the criminal case. Iowa Code § 708.12(2).
In the end, the inescapable conclusion is that our legislature properly assumed under section 708.12 that a no-contact order entered by a magistrate would not automatically terminate at the conclusion of an underlying proceeding, and the legislature wanted the court to determine the status or duration of the no-contact order at the final disposition of the underlying case, subject only to a few mandated outcomes under certain circumstances relating to a disposition of guilt.
A criminal charge of harassment or stalking has two general outcomes. It can result in a disposition of guilt or a disposition of acquittal. Notwithstanding, the need to protect the victim does not necessarily disappear with an acquittal. In fact, an acquittal may give rise to even a greater urgency to protect the victim. Thus, under either outcome, the need to protect the victim is present. Our legislature would not have enacted a scheme, as found by the majority, to provide for continued protection of the victim in one circum*547stance, but not the other. I would hold that the district court properly continued the no-contact order entered in this case following the acquittal.

. It is not particularly unusual for our legislature to refrain from specifically declaring the standard for the continuance or modification of an injunction, as well as the issuance or dissolution of an injunction. See, e.g., Iowa Code § 99.2 (setting forth procedure to enjoin operation of a gambling or prostitution house as a nuisance, but not containing standard upon which injunction will issue). In fact, our rules of practice governing injunctions do not specify any standard of proof. See Iowa Rs. Civ. P. 1.1501-11. Instead, we imply the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard applicable to civil proceedings, unless otherwise specified. See Kennedy, 251 Iowa at 421, 100 N.W.2d at 896; Fed. Land Bank v. Swanson, 231 Neb. 868, 438 N.W.2d 765, 767 (1989) (party seeking injunction must establish claim by a preponderance of the evidence).