Kaster, Matter of, 89-40

Citation454 N.W.2d 876
Decision Date18 April 1990
Docket NumberNo. 89-40,89-40
PartiesIn the Matter of Property Seized from Dickey D. KASTER. Appeal of STATE of Iowa.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Iowa

Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., Christie J. Scase, Asst. Atty. Gen., Paul L. Martin, County Atty., and Michael J. Houchins, Asst. County Atty., for appellant.

Kyndra Naeve of Brown, Kinsey & Funkhouser, Mason City, for Kaster.

Randall C. Wilson and Patricia M. Hulting, Des Moines, for amicus curiae, Iowa Civ. Liberties Union.

Considered en banc.

ANDREASEN, Justice.

The sole issue raised in this appeal is whether Iowa Code section 809.1(2)(b) (1987) is unconstitutionally vague. After trial and the submission of written briefs and arguments, the district court concluded the statute was unconstitutionally vague and ordered the return of property which the State sought to forfeit. We conclude otherwise, and we reverse and remand to the district court.

Dickey D. Kaster was charged with three counts of violating Iowa Code section 109.32, which, among other things, makes it a simple misdemeanor to catch fish with a net. Kaster has a commercial fish hatchery license and operates both a hatchery and a bait shop. Kaster was stopped as he was leaving Clear Lake the night of April 3, 1988, by Officer Schutte of the Department of Natural Resources. Schutte found a wet gill net 1 in the back of Kaster's pickup truck, and he also found three fish 2 and other equipment 3 commonly used in gill netting in the boat Kaster had just removed from the lake and loaded onto a boat trailer.

The county attorney filed a notice of forfeiture claiming Kaster's boat, outboard motor, gill net, boat trailer, depth finder, trolling motor, gloves, plastic milk jug, fence post, and three fish were forfeitable property. See Iowa Code § 809.8 (only the county attorney or attorney general may seek forfeiture). The State sought forfeiture because it considered Kaster intentionally violated the law for commercial purposes. Kaster made application for the return of all the items except the three fish. See Iowa Code § 809.9 (claim for return of forfeitable property).

"Forfeitable property" is defined by Iowa Code section 809.1(2) to include, among other things:

b. Property which has been used or is intended to be used to facilitate the commission of a criminal offense or to avoid detection or apprehension of a person committing a criminal offense.

The district court concluded this statute did not give a person of ordinary intelligence fair warning of what property was at risk and did not provide explicit standards for those who enforce it. Having determined the statute was unconstitutionally vague, the district court sustained Kaster's application for return of the property. The State appealed and Kaster cross-appealed.

I. Standard of Review.

We review the district court's ruling and order for errors of law. Although forfeiture statutes are not criminal statutes, they are penal in nature and must be strictly construed. State v. One Certain 1969 Ford Van, 191 N.W.2d 662, 666 (Iowa 1971). We also construe forfeiture statutes with a view to promote their legitimate purposes. State v. Ludtke, 446 N.W.2d 797, 798 (Iowa 1989). The principles which apply upon review of vagueness challenges are set forth in State v. Duncan, 414 N.W.2d 91, 95-96 (Iowa 1987):

The person challenging a statute carries a heavy burden of rebutting the presumption of constitutionality. If the statute can be made constitutional by a reasonable construction, the court will give it that construction. [State v. McKee, 392 N.W.2d 493, 494 (Iowa 1986).] Thus, a statute will not be declared unconstitutional unless it clearly, palpably and without doubt, infringes the constitution. Saadiq v. State, 387 N.W.2d 315, 320 (Iowa 1986). The unconstitutional vagueness of a criminal statute must be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Wagner, 410 N.W.2d 207, 214 (Iowa 1987). A statute is not unconstitutionally vague if the meaning of the words used can be fairly ascertained by reference to similar statutes, other judicial determinations, the common law, the dictionary, or the common and generally accepted meanings of the words themselves. McKee, 392 N.W.2d at 494.

....

"Thus, to withstand a constitutional attack, a penal statute must satisfy two standards: (1) it must give a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited, and (2) it must provide an explicit standard for those who apply it." Saadiq, 387 N.W.2d at 321.

Here we must determine whether the statute is unconstitutionally vague as applied to Kaster's situation.

II. Fair Notice.

A statute which fails to give persons of common intelligence fair notice of its meaning and application "violates the first essential of due process of law." State v. Coppes, 247 Iowa 1057, 1062, 78 N.W.2d 10, 13 (1956) (citing Connally v. General Constr. Co., 269 U.S. 385, 391-92, 46 S.Ct. 126, 127, 70 L.Ed. 322, 328 (1926) ). The fighting issue is whether the term "criminal offense" is unconstitutionally vague. We are not persuaded the term is vague.

The term "public offense" appears generally in the Iowa Code and is defined in Iowa Code section 701.2: "A public offense is that which is prohibited by statute and is punishable by fine or imprisonment." See also Wright v. City of Cedar Falls, 424 N.W.2d 456, 457-58 (Iowa 1988) (municipal ordinance violations are not public offenses for purposes of Iowa Code chapter 663A); Wenck v. State, 320 N.W.2d 567, 569 (Iowa 1982) ("A simple misdemeanor is unquestionably a public offense."). The term was used in the prior forfeiture law, but the term "criminal offense" is used in the present forfeiture law. Compare Iowa Code § 809.1(3) (1985) with Iowa Code § 809.1(2)(b) (1987).

The term "criminal offense" is not defined in the Iowa Code. However, it appears with some frequency. See Iowa Const. art. I, § 11; Iowa Code §§ 49.77(1), 123.91, 808A.2(1)(a). Compare Iowa Code § 2818 (1851) with Iowa Rev.Code § 4430 (1860) (term "criminal offense" replaced with term "public offense"). In each of these instances the term includes simple misdemeanors. It appears from a review of the statutory law that the legislature generally considers the terms "public offense" and "criminal offense" as synonymous, but defines and uses the term "public offense" for the sake of uniformity.

Upon review of the dictionary definition of the term "criminal offense" and the judicial determinations of other courts, it appears well settled that the term refers to conduct subjecting the offender to imprisonment or fine and includes misdemeanors as well as felonies. See Black's Law Dictionary 975 (5th ed. 1979); 10A Words and Phrases "Criminal Offense" 171-77 (1968 & Supp.1989); 22 C.J.S. Criminal Law § 3(b) at 4-5 (1989).

By reference to similar statutes, prior judicial determinations, and the dictionary, we are satisfied the term "criminal offense" refers to that conduct which is prohibited by statute and is punishable by fine or imprisonment. Accordingly, the term includes statutorily-defined misdemeanors and felonies. Persons of ordinary intelligence would understand the term "criminal offense" refers to any criminal conduct, whether such conduct is classified as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Section 109.76 makes unlawful the use of a net to take fish, except for landing nets used to assist in landing fish. It is clear the legislature has made the netting of fish as described in section 109.76 a criminal offense. See Iowa Code § 109.32 (violation of chapter 109 is a simple misdemeanor with a minimum fine of ten dollars for each offense).

We additionally consider the use of the word "facilitate" in section 809.1(2)(b). Facilitate is defined as "to make easier or less difficult." Webster's Third New Int'l Dictionary 812 (1971). In Platt v. United States, 163 F.2d 165, 166-67 (10th Cir.1947), the federal court of appeals held the use of the word "facilitate" did not render a federal forfeiture statute void for uncertainty. It concluded that an item "used to assist in the commission of the crime" is subject to forfeiture under the challenged statute.

Courts seek a reasonable interpretation of the term "facilitate" in forfeiture statutes. When interpreting the language of 21 U.S.C. § 881(a)(4) which permits "forfeiture of aircraft, vehicles, vessels which are used ... in any manner to facilitate the transportation, sale, [etc.]" of illegal drugs, some federal circuits have held the use of property "in any manner" in connection with an unlawful drug transaction is sufficient to justify forfeiture. See United States v. 1964 Beechcraft Barron Aircraft, 691 F.2d 725, 728 (5th Cir.1982); United States v. One 1974 Cadillac Eldorado Sedan, 548 F.2d 421, 427 (2nd Cir.1977). See also United States v. One 1977 Lincoln Mark V Coupe, 643 F.2d 154 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 818, 102 S.Ct. 97, 70 L.Ed.2d 88 (1981).

A majority of federal circuits, however, have adopted a more restrictive view requiring a "substantial connection" between the property and the unlawful activity. See, e.g., United States v. 1966 Beechcraft Aircraft Model King Air A90, 777 F.2d 947, 953 (4th Cir.1985); United States v. One 1976 Ford F-150 Pick-Up, 769 F.2d 525, 527 (8th Cir.1985); United States v. One 1979 Porsche Coupe, 709 F.2d 1424, 1426 (11th Cir.1983); United States v. One 1972 Chevrolet Corvette, 625 F.2d 1026, 1029 (1st Cir.1980). Under this requirement, property merely used to transport a person to the scene of criminal activity does not facilitate a drug sale. See 769 F.2d at 527; 625 F.2d at 1029. Other state courts require a substantial connection between the property and the crime. See, e.g., In re Forfeiture of $5,264, 432 Mich. 242, 262, 439 N.W.2d 246, 255 (1989); In re Forfeiture of 719 N. Main, 175 Mich.App. 107, 118, 437 N.W.2d 332, 334-35 (1989). Cf. State v. Buggs, 219 Kan. 203, 215-16, 547 P.2d 720, 731 (1976).

We interpret "facilita...

To continue reading

Request your trial
22 cases
  • Chez Sez VIII, Inc. v. Poritz
    • United States
    • New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division
    • February 7, 1997
    ...contains the verb "facilitate," which has uniformly been found not to offend the vagueness doctrine. See e.g., Matter of Kaster, 454 N.W.2d 876 (Iowa 1990) (reasoning that proscribed criminal activity was clearly defined and "facilitate" in the context of a forfeiture statute was not vague)......
  • State v. Brown
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • June 28, 2019
    ...F.3d 820, 823 (8th Cir. 1996) ; United States v. Benitez , 613 F. Supp. 2d 1099, 1101–02 (S.D. Iowa 2009) ; In re Prop. Seized from Kaster , 454 N.W.2d 876, 880 (Iowa 1990) (en banc); State v. Durrell , 300 N.W.2d 134, 135–36 (Iowa 1981) ; State v. Walker , 236 N.W.2d 292, 295 (Iowa 1975).B......
  • Griffin v. Pate
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • June 30, 2016
    ...construed forfeiture provisions in a narrow fashion. See, e.g., In re Wagner, 482 N.W.2d 160, 162 (Iowa 1992) ; In re Kaster, 454 N.W.2d 876, 877 (Iowa 1990) ; 3A Norman J. Singer & Shambie Singer, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 68:5, at 340 (7th ed.2010).Based on the above considera......
  • Sanon v. City of Pella
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • June 26, 2015
    ...a violation of the rules and the Code provisions of chapter 135I.A misdemeanor is a “criminal offense.” In re Prop. Seized from Kaster, 454 N.W.2d 876, 878 (Iowa 1990) (“[I]t appears well settled that [criminal offense] refers to conduct subjecting the offender to imprisonment or fine and i......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT