State v. Broten, 64077
| Decision Date | 27 August 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 64077,64077 |
| Citation | 295 N.W.2d 453 |
| Parties | STATE of Iowa, Appellant, v. Stanley BROTEN, Appellee. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., Selwyn L. Dallyn, Asst. Atty. Gen., and David H. Correll, Black Hawk County Atty., for appellant.
William L. Wegman, Black Hawk County Public Defender, for appellee.
Considered by REYNOLDSON, C. J., and LeGRAND, UHLENHOPP, ALLBEE, and McGIVERIN, JJ.
This appeal involves the propriety of the district court's reconsideration and suspension of sentence after the defendant was sentenced to a period not exceeding ten years for third-degree sexual abuse.
Defendant Stanley Broten was charged with having sexual intercourse with his fifteen-year-old daughter. He pleaded guilty to the charge and the district court sentenced him to a period not to exceed ten years. This crime is a forcible felony under section 702.11, The Code 1979. Hence upon sentencing a deferred or suspended sentence is precluded by section 907.3 of the Code.
The district court reconsidered the sentence within ninety days under section 902.4 of the Code, and suspended the remaining portion of the sentence. The sole issue raised on this appeal is whether section 907.3, which prohibits a deferred or suspended sentence for a defendant convicted of a forcible felony, precludes suspension of the sentence upon later reconsideration under section 902.4.
Section 907.3 permits a court to defer or suspend sentence but also provides, "However, this section shall not apply to a forcible felony . . . ." The State argues that since a suspended sentence was unavailable at time of initial sentencing of this defendant for sexual abuse, the General Assembly has shown intent not to allow a suspended sentence at a later time for conviction of the crime. Defendant argues to the contrary that the district court could reconsider and suspend sentence pursuant to section 902.4 since this offense is not a class "A" felony or a felony for which a minimum sentence of confinement is imposed. The district court adopted defendant's argument.
I. Section 902.4 reads in relevant part:
For a period of ninety days from the date when a person convicted of a felony, other than a class "A" felony or a felony for which a minimum sentence of confinement is imposed, begins to serve a sentence of confinement, the court, on its own motion or on the recommendation of the commissioner of social services, may order the person to be returned to the court, at which time the court may review its previous action and reaffirm it or substitute for it any sentence permitted by law.
(Emphasis added.)
Defendant's interpretation of section 902.4 fails to give effect to the entire section. A court must construe a statute in its entirety, and not merely one portion. City of Des Moines v. Elliott, 267 N.W.2d 44, 45 (Iowa 1978). All parts of legislative enactments must be considered together and undue importance must not be given to a single part. Iowa National Industrial Loan Co. v. Iowa State Department of Revenue, 224 N.W.2d 437, 440 (Iowa 1974); Wilson v. Iowa City, 165 N.W.2d 813, 822 (Iowa 1969). In seeking the meaning of a law the entire act should be considered; each section should be construed with the act as a whole, and all parts of the act should be considered, compared, and construed together. Northern Natural Gas Co. v. Forst, 205 N.W.2d 692, 695 (Iowa 1973); Goergen v. State Tax Commission, 165 N.W.2d 782, 785-786 (Iowa 1969).
The district court determined that the phrase in section 902.4, "or substitute for it any sentence permitted by law," is a general provision, and the phrase, "a person convicted of a felony other than a class 'A' felony or a felony for which a minimum sentence of...
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State v. DeCamp, 00-0101.
...legislative intent, we turn to the rules of statutory construction. Id. A statute must be construed in its entirety. State v. Broten, 295 N.W.2d 453, 454 (Iowa 1980). In resolving the dispute in this case, it is important to consider that section 124.401 establishes the offenses as well as ......
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State v. Iowa Dist. Court for Shelby County, 65109
...907.3 therefore precludes a trial court from suspending the sentence of a defendant convicted of a forcible felony. State v. Broten, 295 N.W.2d 453, 454 (Iowa 1980). The definition of forcible felony expressly includes kidnapping and "any felonious assault." § 702.11, The Code. We have inte......
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State v. West, 67575
...not subject to reconsideration because a person sentenced for a forcible felony is ineligible for shock sentencing. See State v. Broten, 295 N.W.2d 453 (Iowa 1980). The court's alleged misadvice, however, did not occur until after sentence had been pronounced. It certainly could not have af......
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State v. Sullivan, 67003
...circumstances, we are not foreclosed from reviewing the legality of the challenged order on certiorari. As we said in State v. Broten, 295 N.W.2d 453, 455 (Iowa 1980), "[w]e do not construe the quoted clause in section 902.4 to mean that a decision by a reconsidering court is not reviewable......