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Iowa Dep't of Transportation v. Iowa District Court for Dubuque County10/8/2003
Iowa Department of Transportation challenges order of the district court which mandates dating of six-year OWI driver's license revocation back to start of prior revocation for chemical test failure. WRIT SUSTAINED.
Thomas Naber wants the DOT to run his six-year driver's license revocation for his third conviction of OWI concurrently with a prior revocation for refusing a chemical test. The district court ordered the DOT to do so, which Naber claims was a result of a plea agreement with the county attorney. The DOT filed a writ of certiorari, in which it alleges the district court has no authority to make such an order. The defendant contends the district court can do so, and that the interests of justice require us to uphold its order in this case. We sustain the writ of certiorari.
I. Background and Facts
In March 2001, Dyersville police arrested Thomas Naber for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI), in violation of Iowa Code section 321J.2 (2001). After his arrest, Naber refused to take a breath test. See Iowa Code § 321J.6. In August 2001, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) revoked Naber's driver's license for two years, on account of his failure to submit to the test. See Iowa Code §§ 321J.6, 321J.9.
In April 2002, Naber pled guilty to second-offense OWI. Because Naber had two previous convictions for OWI, the district court ordered the DOT to immediately revoke his driving privileges for six years. See id. § 321J.4(4). The court also ordered that the six-year revocation should run concurrently from the start of the prior administrative revocation for refusing to take the chemical test. The latter revocation had begun nearly nine months earlier. The district court's order was apparently the result of negotiations between Naber and the assistant county attorney. There is, however, no record of the plea negotiations before us.
The DOT filed a writ of certiorari, claiming the district court, in dating the six-year revocation to commence with the start of the test refusal revocation, acted illegally. This court granted certiorari.
Scope of Review
In a certiorari action, we review the actions of the district court for errors at law. Iowa Dep't of Transp. v. Iowa Dist. Ct. for Johnson County, 570 N.W.2d 461, 462 (Iowa 1997). "Certiorari is appropriate when a trial court is alleged to have exceeded its jurisdiction or to have acted illegally." Iowa Dep't of Transp. v. Iowa Dist. Ct. for Blackhawk County, 503 N.W.2d 411 (Iowa 1993).
The Merits
The DOT claims the district court acted illegally when it dated Naber's mandatory six-year revocation for his third conviction of OWI to run concurrently with the start of a prior administrative revocation for failing to take a required chemical test. Naber disagrees, and argues that justice requires the plea agreement be enforced; defendants, he claims, must be able to depend on the word of the county attorney in plea agreements. Naber also contends a ruling to the contrary would infringe upon his rights to discovery and trial.
Iowa Code section 321J.4(4) states, in relevant part, that
Upon a plea or verdict of guilty of a third or subsequent violation of section 321J.2, the court shall order the department to revoke the defendant's driver's license or nonresident operating permit for a period of six years. The defendant shall not be eligible for a temporary restricted license for at least one year after the effective date of the revocation.
Iowa Code § 321J.4(4) (emphasis added). Although the DOT argues the plain language of Iowa Code section 321J.4(4) does not permit a court to date the si
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