Overton v. State, 91-1004
| Decision Date | 23 December 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-1004,91-1004 |
| Citation | 493 N.W.2d 857 |
| Parties | Thomas D. OVERTON, Appellant, v. STATE of Iowa, Appellee. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Philip B. Mears of Mears Law Office, Iowa City, for appellant.
Bonnie J. Campbell, Atty. Gen., and Layne M. Lindebak, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and LARSON, SCHULTZ, LAVORATO, and ANDREASEN, JJ.
Thomas Overton, an inmate at the Iowa Men's Reformatory, appeals from the denial of his application for postconviction relief which challenges the discipline imposed upon him by the institution. In his application, Overton maintained the Iowa Department of Corrections (department) had no authority to require him to pay damages to reimburse a staff member for eyeglasses broken during an altercation. The State claimed Overton waived review of this issue because he did not raise it in his administrative appeals. In addition, the State claimed that the department did have authority to impose a monetary sanction. The district court sustained the State's motion for summary judgment. We affirm.
A proceeding for postconviction relief is a civil action and is triable at law. Jones v. State, 479 N.W.2d 265, 269 (Iowa 1991). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Iowa R.Civ.P. 237(c). Our review, when the facts are not in dispute, is to determine whether the district court correctly decided whether the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Hoefer v. Wisconsin Educ. Ass'n Ins. Trust, 470 N.W.2d 336, 338 (Iowa 1991).
I. Error preservation. It is undisputed that Overton did not raise the issue of improper sanction in his administrative appeals. In postconviction proceedings, our general rule prevents the court from considering an issue not asserted in the administrative process, absent sufficient reason for such failure. Bonds v. State, 447 N.W.2d 135, 136 (Iowa 1989). Although Overton advances his own reasons for failing to raise this issue during his administrative appeals, we believe another exception to the general rule allows us to consider the issue at this time.
We believe that an inmate may avoid the application of the error preservation rule when an issue concerns the institution's authority to impose the challenged sanction. In criminal proceedings, a sentence which is not authorized by statute is void. State v. Wiese, 201 N.W.2d 734, 737 (Iowa 1972). Void criminal sentences are not subject to the usual concepts of waiver arising from a failure to seek review or other omissions of error preservation. State v. Ohnmacht, 342 N.W.2d 838, 843 (Iowa 1983). While Wiese and Ohnmacht both involve criminal sentencing, we believe that the reasoning employed in these cases is also applicable to unauthorized sanctions imposed in prison disciplinary proceedings. Consequently, we hold that an issue concerning the authority to impose a particular sanction may be raised for the first time in postconviction proceedings.
II. Authority to require monetary reimbursement to a staff member. The parties agree that the authority for the sanction in question comes from an institutional rule permitting the sanction of "assessed costs" for the violation of a disciplinary rule. Overton contends that the legislature has not granted the department specific authority to impose monetary restitution.
We first examine the department's authority to enact rules imposing penalties on inmates for disciplinary rule violations. The department's board is authorized to adopt rules that it "deems necessary to transact its business and for the administration and exercise of its powers and duties." Iowa Code § 246.105(7). Specific authority for the imposition of penalties is found in Iowa Code section 246.505(1) which provides:
Inmates who disobey the disciplinary rules of the institutions to which they are committed shall be punished by the imposition of the penalties prescribed in the disciplinary rules....
Overton cites Marquart v. Maucker, 215 N.W.2d 278 (Iowa 1974), as authority for his claim that the institution must have specific statutory authority to adopt a rule to impose a penalty. We believe that Overton's reliance on Marquart is misplaced. In Marquart, we held that the board of regents was without authority to establish parking rules, the breach of which would constitute a public offense punishable by a fine or other penalty. Id. at 283. Unlike the board of regents, the department had statutory authority to punish inmates by the imposition of penalties. Iowa Code § 246.505(1).
Our court of appeals recently held that section 246.505 provided the department with statutory authority to enact a rule imposing the sanction of "assessed costs." Sauls v. State, 467 N.W.2d 1, 3 (Iowa App.1990). The court further approved the imposition of a sanction requiring an inmate to reimburse the institution for part of the expenses it incurred as a...
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Smith v. State, No. 8-926/08-0362 (Iowa App. 12/17/2008)
...by this rule because his claim concerns whether the department had the authority to impose a sanction. He notes in State v. Overton, 493 N.W.2d 857, 859 (Iowa 1992), the court determined exhaustion of administrative remedies was not required prior to judicial review "when an issue concerns ......
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City of Des Moines v. Iowa Dep't of Transp. & Iowa Transp. Comm'n
...Department of Corrections to make rules requiring him to reimburse a staff member for eyeglasses broken during an altercation. 493 N.W.2d 857, 858 (Iowa 1992). The contested rule permitted the sanction of "assessed costs" when an inmate violated a disciplinary rule. Id. at 859. Iowa law pro......
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...relief proceedings stand as an action at law, triable to the court and generally are reviewed only on error. Overton v. State, 493 N.W.2d 857, 858 (Iowa 1992) (citation omitted); Fouts v. State, 365 N.W.2d 38, 39 (Iowa App.1985) (citation omitted). When the applicant alleges a constitutiona......
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...N.W.2d 274, 277 (Iowa 1985). A presumption of validity attends any agency rule adopted pursuant to delegated authority. Overton v. State, 493 N.W.2d 857, 859 (Iowa 1992). Any challenge to that authority, to be successful, must be established by clear and convincing evidence. Dunlap Care Ctr......