State v. Eames
| Decision Date | 18 June 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-546,96-546 |
| Parties | STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Thomas Stanley EAMES, Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Annette L. Hitchcock and Christopher Cooklin, Assistant State Appellate Defenders, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Susan M. Crawford, Assistant Attorney General, James DeTaeye, County Attorney, and James Scheetz, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.
Considered en banc.
Defendant, Thomas Stanley Eames, appeals from his convictions for dominion and control of a firearm by a convicted felon, see Iowa Code § 724.26 (1993), and possession of a controlled substance, see id. § 124.401(3). He contests the trial court's admission of evidence seized by law enforcement authorities following execution of an administrative search warrant. Finding no error, we affirm.
In 1993, Eames made three controlled sales of marijuana to Marshalltown police. He was charged with three counts of possession, one based on possession of one ounce of marijuana and two based on possession of a quarter pound of marijuana. Eames eventually pled guilty to possession of forty grams of marijuana and was placed on probation.
In November 1994, Tracy Anderson, a drug enforcement officer in Marshall County, contacted John Wetlaufer of the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance ("Department"). Wetlaufer's duties included the collection of delinquent taxes through distress warrants, levies, garnishments, and search warrants. Anderson informed Wetlaufer of the drug purchases made from Eames in 1993, and Wetlaufer calculated a drug tax due from Eames in the amount of $2,307.96. See Iowa Code ch. 453B (drug tax statute).
Wetlaufer prepared an application and necessary documents for the issuance of an administrative search warrant. He then made arrangements to meet four deputies at Eames' residence to execute the warrant. On his way to the magistrate's office to obtain the warrant, Wetlaufer placed a notice of the drug tax assessment in the mail to Eames.
Approximately ten to fifteen minutes later, Wetlaufer obtained a magistrate's approval for the warrant. His affidavit in support of the application states the notice of the tax assessment, a distress warrant, and a lien notice had been mailed to Eames. The magistrate was not advised, however, these documents had been mailed only a few minutes earlier and Eames could not possibly have received them by the time the search warrant was issued and executed.
After obtaining the warrant, local authorities conducted a search of Eames' residence. Eames was not present. During this search, officers saw marijuana. The search was stopped and a search warrant for drugs was obtained. During execution of the second search warrant, the authorities confiscated contraband, resulting in the present firearm and possession charges.
Eames filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained in the execution of the second search warrant, claiming it was based on information discovered during an illegal search under the administrative search warrant. See Iowa R.Crim. P. 11. The district court overruled the motion and the evidence was considered at Eames' trial. The case was tried to the court on the minutes of testimony and Eames was found guilty of dominion and control of a firearm by a convicted felon, see Iowa Code § 724.26, and possession of a controlled substance, see id. § 124.401(3).
Eames filed this appeal, alleging error in the district court's ruling on his motion to suppress. Because Eames' appeal is based on challenges to the issuance of the administrative search warrant, it is helpful to begin our analysis with a review of the statutes governing the procedures for such a warrant.
The stated purpose of the warrant obtained by Wetlaufer was to allow the Department to collect the drug tax assessed against Eames. 1 Therefore, we start our review of the applicable statutes with the law imposing this tax.
A. Assessment of the tax. Iowa Code chapter 453B imposes an excise tax on "dealers." See Iowa Code § 453B.7. A "dealer" is defined in part as any person possessing 42 1/2 grams or more of marijuana in this state. Id. § 453B.1(3)(b). The excise tax may be assessed by the director of the Department "based on knowledge or information available to the director." Iowa Code Ann. § 453B.9 (West Supp.1997). 2
The director is required to serve the taxpayer by regular mail at the taxpayer's last known address or in person with "a written notice of the amount of tax, interest, and penalty due, which notice may include a demand for immediate payment." Id. "Service of the notice by regular mail is complete upon mailing." Id. Upon service of the notice, the director may "immediately proceed to collect the tax, interest, and penalty by any method prescribed in section 422.30." Id. (emphasis added). All assessments of taxes made pursuant to chapter 453B are considered jeopardy assessments as provided in section 422.30. Id.
B. Collection of the tax. The method of collection is affected by chapter 453B's characterization of the drug tax assessment as a "jeopardy assessment." Jeopardy assessments are governed by Iowa Code section 422.30:
If the director believes that the assessment or collection of taxes will be jeopardized by delay, the director may immediately make an assessment of the estimated amount of tax due, together with all interest, additional amounts, or penalties, as provided by law. The director shall serve the taxpayer by regular mail at the taxpayer's last known address or in person, with a written notice of the amount of tax, interest, and penalty due, which notice may include a demand for immediate payment. Service of the notice by regular mail is complete upon mailing. A distress warrant may be issued or a lien filed against the taxpayer immediately.
Id. § 422.30 (emphasis added). A distress warrant "is directed to the sheriff of the appropriate county and [identifies] the taxpayer, the tax type, and the delinquent amount." Iowa Code § 422.26. It directs the sheriff to seize, levy upon, or sell any real or personal property belonging to the taxpayer to satisfy the delinquency. Id.
Iowa Code section 453B.11 empowers the director to obtain an administrative search warrant "as authorized by section 808.14" to execute a distress warrant. Section 808.14 merely authorizes the court to issue an administrative search warrant "in accordance with the statutory and common law requirements for the issuance of such warrants." 3
Eames supported his motion to suppress with several arguments. The district court, however, considered and ruled upon only three: (1) the State failed to show section 453B.7 applies to Eames because he was convicted of possessing only forty grams of marijuana; consequently, Eames was not a "dealer" within the meaning of section 453B.1(3)(b); (2) the State cannot rely on the procedures for a jeopardy assessment because collection of the tax was not really in jeopardy; the State could have filed a lien against Eames' house to satisfy the delinquency; and (3) section 453B.9 violates procedural due process because it does not provide for predeprivation notice and hearing, see U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV. The court ruled against Eames on these issues and did not discuss the other arguments made in Eames' motion to suppress.
Our error preservation rule "requires that issues must be presented to and passed upon by the district court before they can be raised and decided on appeal." State v. Manna, 534 N.W.2d 642, 644 (Iowa 1995). In Manna, the defendant rested his motion to suppress on two grounds. Id. The trial court denied his motion, addressing only one ground. Id. We held error was not preserved on the issue not considered by the trial court. Id. Applying this same principle of law here, we conclude the only issues preserved for our review are the three questions passed upon by the district court.
We review the court's interpretation of chapter 453B for correction of errors of law. State v. Kidd, 562 N.W.2d 764, 765 (Iowa 1997). Our review of the constitutional issue is de novo based on the totality of the circumstances. Manna, 534 N.W.2d at 643.
A. Eames' status as a dealer. As noted earlier, chapter 453B imposes an excise tax on "dealers." Iowa Code § 453B.7. A "dealer" is defined in part as any person possessing 42 1/2 grams or more of marijuana. Id. § 453B.1(3)(b).
Eames claims he was not a "dealer" because he pled guilty to possession of forty grams of marijuana, an amount less than that required by the statutory definition of "dealer." Consequently, he argues, the tax was incorrectly assessed against him. The district court concluded the State was not bound by the defendant's plea bargain in the prior possession case. We agree with the court's conclusion but also believe Eames' challenge fails for a more fundamental reason.
Section 453B.9 expressly provides the tax "is presumed valid and correctly determined and assessed." Iowa Code Ann. § 453B.9. If a taxpayer disputes his "dealer" status, he may appeal the assessment. Id. The burden is upon the taxpayer to prove he was not a "dealer." Id. Eames has not shown he successfully appealed the tax assessment; he may not contest the correctness of the assessment here.
Even considering Eames' argument on its merits, we find the tax was properly assessed. Section 453B.9 allows the director to assess the tax "based on knowledge or information available to the director." Here, the tax assessment rested on information provided by local law enforcement authorities that Eames possessed two quarter pounds of marijuana. (A quarter of a pound is considered in excess of 42 1/2 grams.) Basing the assessment on this information was entirely proper...
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