State v. Briggs

• Decision Date: 16 July 2003
• Docket Number: No. 01-1914.,01-1914.
• Citation: 666 N.W.2d 573
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Tonya Mae BRIGGS, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

666 N.W.2d 573

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Tonya Mae BRIGGS, Appellant.

No. 01-1914.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

July 16, 2003.

Christopher A. Kragnes and Tiffany Koenig, Des Moines, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Mary E. Tabor, Assistant Attorney General, John P. Sarcone, County Attorney, and Thomas DeSio, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

CADY, Justice.

In this appeal, we consider whether the imposition of cash only bail violates the Iowa Constitution. We conclude that it does not, and affirm the district court.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

On August 10, 2001, Des Moines police arrested Tonya Briggs after she propositioned an undercover police officer. Briggs was later charged with prostitution, marking the fourth time she had been charged with the same offense in less than a year. She made an initial appearance on August 11 and, after her bond was reviewed, was released on $6500 bond "cash/surety" pending her arraignment on September 24. She posted bail on August 19 with the assistance of a local bail bond company.

Briggs did not appear for her arraignment on September 24. This prompted the district court to issue a bench warrant for her arrest. The warrant set bond at $6500 "CASH." Briggs eventually appeared for arraignment and her bond was continued, "at 6,500—cash only," pending her pretrial conference and trial.

Before the date of her pretrial conference arrived, Briggs filed an application for bond review. She argued she "is guaranteed the right to reasonable bail by the Fourteenth Amendment [of the United States Constitution] and by Article I, Section[s] 12 [and] 17 of the Constitution of the State of Iowa." Following a hearing on her application the district court denied the request. It observed,

[the] [p]urpose of a bond is to ensure the defendant's presence on court dates and also to ensure protection of the public. Based on the defendant's criminal history and the fact that she did fail to appear for her arraignment in this case, the Court does find that $6,500 cash only is reasonable to ensure her presence and to ensure the protection of the public from further criminal activity.

Immediately after the denial of the application, Briggs signed a waiver of jury trial and stipulation to a trial on the minutes of testimony on the prostitution charge. She was found guilty and agreed to waive her right to file a motion in arrest of judgment, allowing for her immediate sentencing to a period of incarceration not to exceed two years. On November 20, Briggs filed a timely notice of appeal from the judgment and sentence of the district court, alleging the district court's restriction of her bail to "cash only" violated several constitutional provisions.

II. Standard of Review.

Ordinarily, we review a district court's decisions related to bail for an abuse of discretion. State v. Kellogg, 534 N.W.2d 431, 433 (Iowa 1995). However, Briggs' arguments implicate a number of constitutional provisions, making our review de novo. See id. at 434; see also Klouda v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Dep't of Corr. Servs., 642 N.W.2d 255, 260 (Iowa 2002)

.

III. Preservation of Error and Mootness.

The State contends that Briggs failed to preserve error on her constitutional claims and that her conviction for prostitution based on the minutes of testimony in her case made her claims moot and no longer justiciable before this court. We agree with the State in part on one of these issues.

In her motion for bond review in the district court, Briggs alleged the imposition of cash only bail impingedon a constitutional right derived from the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On appeal, she alleges a violation arising out of the "excessive bail" clause of the Eighth Amendment. See U.S. Const. amend. 8. The State argues Briggs failed to cite the Eighth Amendment in presenting her initial arguments in the district court, and this failure constituted a waiver of any such claim on appeal. We agree.

Several principles can be stated in relation to the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. See Willson v. City of Des Moines, 386 N.W.2d 76, 80 (Iowa 1986)

(quoting Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 337, 106 S.Ct. 662, 677-78, 88 L.Ed.2d 662, 672 (1986) (Stevens, J., concurring)). The Fourteenth Amendment, of course, is the gateway through which the guarantees of most of the provisions of the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the actions of individual states and state actors. See id. Thus, the provisions of the Eighth Amendment—as portions of the Bill of Rights—could potentially apply to this controversy via the guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment. See id. Of course, the Fourteenth Amendment has other applications, including the extension of due process rights to all citizens. See id. In some fashion, each of these principles may be applicable to Briggs' constitutional claim, and may have influenced the method by which her claim was put before the district court.

Yet, as a result of the method by which her claim was actually presented, it is impossible to say precisely what federal constitutional claim Briggs presented to the district court and whether that same claim is being reasserted on appeal. The clearest indicator of this confusion is Briggs' failure to mention the Eighth Amendment in the district court (although mentioning the Fourteenth Amendment) while premising her federal constitutional claim on the Eighth Amendment (without discussing the Fourteenth Amendment) on appeal. We could infer that Briggs attempted to argue an "excessive bail" claim arising from the Eighth Amendment as incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment in the district court, yet this is far from clear given the limited argument on this issue. We could also just as easily conclude that her initial allegation of a violation arising from the Fourteenth Amendment was premised on due process guarantees.¹ Yet, such a claim is far different than arguing—as she does on appeal—a violation of the Eighth Amendment. In short, we believe this confusion is indicative of the failure to properly preserve error on a claimed violation of a federal constitutional right relating to cash only bail. Thus, we agree with the State that Briggs has failed to preserve error on this portion of her claim.

On the other hand, we do believe she preserved error on her state constitutional claims. A more intriguing question, however, is whether this controversy is moot and no longer justiciable in light of Briggs' waiver and stipulation and the district court's determination of her guilt. As a rule, we do not decide appeals in which "the issue becomes nonexistent or academic and, consequently, no longer involves a justiciable controversy." State v. Hernandez-Lopez, 639 N.W.2d 226, 234 (Iowa 2002). However, an exception to this rule exists for those cases presenting "issues of broad public importance likely to recur." Id. Briggs' arguments based on the propriety of her bail became moot after she waived her jury trial and was found guilty. Any decision we issue relating to cash only bail will have no further effect on her at this point in time. To determine whether her claim should still be considered, we look to four factors:

(1) the private or public nature of the issue; (2) the desirability of an authoritative adjudication to guide public officials in their future conduct; (3) the likelihood of the recurrence of the issue; and (4) the likelihood the issue will recur yet evade appellate review.

Id. After considering these factors, we conclude that we should entertain this controversy despite it being moot.

Questions resting on the nature and propriety of cash only bail are of a pressing public interest. The imposition of cash only bail is a regular occurrence in our district courts. The constitutional implications of this form of bail are of great relevance for members of the public, the bar, and the judiciary. The need to provide guidance on this issue is manifest. Moreover, in the absence of authoritative guidance, it is highly likely this issue will recur, potentially resulting in varied and inconsistent interpretations of important constitutional provisions. Finally, although it is conceivable that this issue could reach us under circumstances that would not involve a moot controversy, we believe this issue is highly likely to recur yet evade our review. For all of these reasons, we believe this is one of the exceptional circumstances in which our review is proper even in light of the mootness of the underlying controversy. We turn now to our consideration of the core issue presented by this appeal.

IV. Bailable by Sufficient Sureties.

Briggs argues that the intersection of two provisions of the Iowa Constitution prevents the imposition of cash only bail. Primary of these two is article I, section 12, which provides:

No person shall after acquittal, be tried for the same offence. All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable, by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences where the proof is evident, or the presumption great.

Iowa Const. art. I, § 12 (emphasis added). In Briggs' estimation, the "sufficient sureties" clause of section 12 precludes any bail option that prevents unfettered access to a surety. Thus, she argues, the sufficient sureties clause, combined with the "excessive bail" clause of article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution, bars the imposition of cash only bail. Iowa Const. art. I, § 17 ("Excessive bail shall not be required; excessive fines shall not be imposed, and cruel and unusual punishment shall not be inflicted." (Emphasis added.)). Briggs asserts that this interpretation is consistent with and commanded by the language of the Iowa Constitution, especially in light of that language's meaning at the time of our constitution's drafting.

It is necessary to note at the outset the full context in which the district court's decisions related to bail were made. Although Briggs...