State v. Anspach

• Decision Date: 31 May 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-0304.,00-0304.
• Citation: 627 N.W.2d 227
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Edward Jerome ANSPACH, Jr., Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

627 N.W.2d 227

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Edward Jerome ANSPACH, Jr., Appellant.

No. 00-0304.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

May 31, 2001.

Thomas J. Clarke, Jr., of Isaacson & Clarke, Des Moines, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Jean C. Pettinger, Assistant Attorney General, John P. Sarcone, County Attorney, and Jeffrey Noble and John Judish, Assistant County Attorneys, for appellee.

Considered en banc.

SNELL, Justice.

This is a case about a defendant who did several foolish things. Whether his imprudent actions amount to child endangerment is the question before us today. Our determination necessarily turns on the interpretation of a statute as it applies to the actions of the defendant as well as the constitutional implications of the statute. See Iowa Code § 726.6(1)(a) (1999). Because we agree with the district court that the defendant's actions constitute the crime of child endangerment, we affirm the district court's decision.

I. Factual Background and Procedure

Edward Jerome Anspach, Jr. was stopped by police for speeding. He was traveling at a rate of fifty-three miles per hour in a thirty-five miles per hour zone. Police signaled by flashing lights for Anspach to stop. Police testimony indicated that rather than slow down and stop, Anspach actually sped up. Anspach then made two sharp turns onto a side street and then into an alley before finally coming to an abrupt stop. In his hastiness, Anspach left approximately thirty-foot skid marks on the road. When later asked by police why he did not immediately stop, Anspach told the officer he was losing his license in three days and did not want to get caught again. The weight of these facts indicate Anspach was trying to elude police.

Anspach was driving a truck containing several passengers. The open truck bed held two women, Ida and Carla Wallace. Police characterized the position of these women during the "chase" as one of "hanging on for dear life" "to keep from being thrown out." Anspach was reportedly taking Ida and Carla on errands.

The truck cab contained four small children — one was lying on the floor and three were sitting or lying on the seat. The ages of the children were one, two, two, and three. The youngest lay on the floor of the truck on top of garbage and debris, the two-year-olds were fastened with the same belt, and the three-year-old was completely unrestrained. No child was protected by a car seat or properly secured by a seat belt. The officer speculated that the children must have been thrown about in the cab when the car skidded around the corner and went into a slide before coming to rest in the alley. Ida was the mother of two of the children. Carla was babysitting the other two children for a friend. None of the children had a relationship with Anspach.

Anspach was immediately cited for four counts of failing to use a child restraint system under Des Moines City Ordinance section 27-446 (now section 114-446), failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, failure to have insurance, and speeding. See Iowa Code § 321.446 (providing the State counterpart to the safety seat ordinance). Anspach was later charged with four counts of child endangerment under Iowa Code section 726.6(1)(a), (3), which are aggravated misdemeanors. These new charges carried the threat of incarceration. Neither Ida nor Carla were charged with any misconduct for their part in this situation.

Prior to trial, Anspach made a motion to dismiss the child endangerment charges against him based on several constitutional arguments. This motion was denied. Anspach then waived his right to a jury and the case went to bench trial. Anspach was convicted on all counts and sentenced to four indeterminate terms of two years to be served concurrently. The court then suspended his sentence and placed him on probation for a period of twenty-four months. Anspach appeals this conviction. On appeal, he makes three arguments: (1) Iowa Code section 726.6(1)(a) is unconstitutionally vague by its undefined "substantial risk" requirement because it does not reasonably give fair warning to those who fall under it and enables arbitrary enforcement; (2) Evidence was insufficient to show that Anspach committed acts constituting a substantial risk to the children's safety; and (3) Anspach was erroneously charged with child endangerment because he had no custody or control over the children.

II. Scope and Standard of Review

This case raises a constitutional vagueness issue for our review. See U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV; see also State v. Osmundson, 546 N.W.2d 907, 908-09 (Iowa 1996)

. We review constitutional claims de novo. State v. Milner, 571 N.W.2d 7, 12 (Iowa 1997). As such, "we presume the statute is constitutional and `give it any reasonable construction necessary to uphold it.'" Id. (quoting State v. Hunter, 550 N.W.2d 460, 462 (Iowa 1996),

overruled on other grounds by State v. Robinson, 618 N.W.2d 306 (Iowa 2000)). "This presumption places a heavy burden on one challenging the constitutionality of the statute." Osmundson, 546 N.W.2d at 909. Accordingly, a contender must destroy any reasonable basis for the statute to secure a reversal. Wettach v. Iowa Bd. of Dental Exam'rs, 524 N.W.2d 168, 171 (Iowa 1994).

To the extent our review also requires us to interpret the meaning and scope of a particular statute, our review is for correction of errors at law. Iowa R.App. P. 4; State v. Orozco, 573 N.W.2d 22, 24 (Iowa 1997). "When reviewing such issues we are not bound by the trial court's determinations of law." State v. Eickelberg, 574 N.W.2d 1, 3 (Iowa 1997). Where the defendant also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction under the statute, "we review the evidence to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty of the offense charged" beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. Thus, our review of all the evidence in the record is made in a light most favorable to the State. State v. Thomas, 561 N.W.2d 37, 39 (Iowa 1997).

III. Preservation of Error

The State maintains that Anspach failed to preserve error on his claim that section 726.6(1)(a) cannot apply to him because of the custody and control requirement. Anspach alleges he was erroneously charged with child endangerment because he did not have custody or control over the children in this situation. This issue questions the meaning of the term control and suggests that Anspach's circumstances were insufficient to show control. Anspach does not phrase his argument in terms of a constitutional void for vagueness challenge. Rather, he maintains that his conduct cannot be defined as control. We choose to interpret this issue as a sufficiency of the evidence challenge. When such a claim is made on appeal from a criminal bench trial, error preservation is no barrier. State v. Abbas, 561 N.W.2d 72, 74 (Iowa 1997) (holding that "when a criminal case is tried to the court, a defendant may challenge the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal irrespective of whether a motion for judgment of acquittal was previously made").

IV. Issues on Appeal

The child endangerment statute in question is provided below:

1. A person who is the parent, guardian, or person having custody or control over a child ... commits child endangerment when the person a. Knowingly acts in a manner that creates a substantial risk to a child or minor's physical, mental or emotional health or safety.

....

3. A person who commits child endangerment not resulting in serious injury to a child or minor is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.

Iowa Code § 726.6(1)(a), (3).

A. The Constitutionality of Section 726.6(1)(a)

We will only address the issue of vagueness as it applies to Anspach's circumstances. In this regard, a criminal statute must "define the criminal offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited and in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement." Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 357, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 1858, 75 L.Ed.2d 903, 909 (1983). Thus, we will "consider whether [the defendant's] conduct clearly falls within the proscription of the statute under any construction." Hunter, 550 N.W.2d at 465 (citation omitted). Further, we recognize:

The degree of vagueness that the constitution tolerates—as well as the relative importance of fair notice and fair enforcement—depend in part on the nature of the enactment. Thus, for example, a law interfering with the exercise of fundamental rights would be tested by a more stringent standard [than one that does not].

Jim O. Inc. v. City of Cedar Rapids, 587 N.W.2d 476, 478 (Iowa 1998) (citation omitted). The conduct at issue here is failing to abide by child restraint laws, exceeding the applicable speed limit, and attempting to evade police. Because Anspach has no legal right to engage in such conduct, no fundamental rights are implicated. As such, we will not employ the more stringent standard.

Anspach argues that the phrase "substantial risk" is vague because it is not capable of alerting the ordinary person to what type of conduct is implicated. Substantial risk is not defined in section 726.6. The phrase substantial risk, however, has been heavily defined in other contexts and enjoys a fairly ascertainable meaning. See State v. Carter, 602 N.W.2d 818, 821(Iowa 1999)

; State v. Anderson, 308 N.W.2d 42, 46-47 (Iowa 1981). Such analyses are helpful to our determination. For example,

The specificity required of a statute need not be apparent on its face. We may look to prior decisions, the dictionary and common usage.... The word "substantial" is defined in the dictionary and generally means real, important, not illusive. This is also the ordinary usage of the word. The statute sufficiently informs the jury of the general types of injuries that are required to find a person guilty of [the specific offense].

....

... We conclude that a substantial risk of

...