State v. Iowa Dist. Court For Webster County

• Decision Date: 23 August 2011
• Docket Number: No. 09–0982.,09–0982.
• Citation: 801 N.W.2d 513
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Plaintiff,v.IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR WEBSTER COUNTY, Defendant,Robert Harkins, Plaintiff,v.Iowa District Court for Webster County, Defendant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

801 N.W.2d 513

STATE of Iowa, Plaintiff,

v.IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR WEBSTER COUNTY, Defendant,Robert Harkins, Plaintiff,

v.Iowa District Court for Webster County, Defendant.

No. 09–0982.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

July 8, 2011.Rehearing Denied Aug. 23, 2011.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Jennifer M. York, Assistant Attorney General, for the State of Iowa.Robert Harkins, Mount Pleasant, pro se.MANSFIELD, Justice.

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, “No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” According to section 903A.2(1)( a ) (2007) of the Iowa Code, an incarcerated sex offender is not eligible for an earned-time reduction of sentence unless that person completes a sex offender treatment program. The question presented here is whether section 903A.2(1)( a ) violates the Fifth Amendment rights of a convicted sex offender, when successful completion of the treatment program would require him to acknowledge responsibility for his offense.

We conclude there is no Fifth Amendment violation. For the reasons discussed herein, we believe the State of Iowa may use earned-time credits as an incentive for convicted sex offenders to obtain sex offender treatment, even when the treatment requires an acknowledgment of responsibility.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

On March 21, 2006, Robert Harkins was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse following a jury trial. The court of appeals, in upholding Harkins's conviction on direct appeal, summarized the relevant facts as follows:

On August 27, 2005, Robert Harkins went out drinking with some friends. The group ended up at the home of [the victim]. After a short period of time most of the group left, except for Derrick, Trisha, Harkins, and [the victim]. Derrick, who was [the victim's] former boyfriend, passed out on the couch. Trisha went to sleep in one of the bedrooms. Harkins laid down in [the victim's] bedroom in all of his clothes. [The victim] stated she believed Harkins was sleeping or passed out, so she laid down to sleep on the other side of the bed.

[The victim] testified Harkins rolled over on top of her, and she told him to get off. Harkins pinned [the victim] down and pulled her clothing off. [The victim] testified she repeatedly told Harkins no, stating, “I told him no. I told him to stop.” Harkins proceeded to engage in sexual intercourse with her. When Harkins stopped she kneed him and pushed him off, then screamed at him that she had said no. Trisha heard [the victim] say, “No, I said no.” Trisha went to investigate, and met [the victim] coming out of her bedroom, clad only in a blanket and crying hysterically. Trisha stated she saw blood on [the victim's] bed. Harkins then left the home.

Trisha and [the victim] called the police, and deputy sheriff Kevin Knoche responded to the call. Deputy Knoche also saw blood on [the victim's] bed. Deputy Knoche found Harkins sleeping at the home of a friend. Harkins was not wearing his underwear, but it was stuck in the fly of his pants. Harkins denied having sex with [the victim] and stated he could not recall anything like that occurring.

[The victim] was taken to a hospital for a physical examination. [The victim] had three tears, which were bleeding, in the area of the perineum. Nancy Downing, a registered nurse, testified she did not usually find tears that were that large or bleeding at the time of the exam. Downing testified [the victim's] injuries were consistent with forced sexual intercourse.

Harkins was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, in violation of Iowa Code section 709.4 (2005). At the trial Harkins testified he remembered everything about the evening in question. He stated he and [the victim] had engaged in consensual sex. He stated that in the middle of having sex, he found out [the victim] had recently had sex with Derrick, and he made a derogatory comment to her. He stated [the victim] got mad and threw him out.

A jury found Harkins guilty of third-degree sexual abuse. Harkins was sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed ten years.

State v. Harkins, No. 06–0660, 2007 WL 914032 (Iowa Ct.App. Mar. 28, 2007).

After the court of appeals affirmed Harkins's conviction, the district court imposed a special life sentence on Harkins pursuant to Iowa Code section 903B.1 (Supp.2005), in addition to the original ten-year term of imprisonment. Harkins appealed the special sentence, asserting it was unconstitutional and that his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to it. On July 22, 2009, the court of appeals rejected these arguments and again affirmed the district court. State v. Harkins, 786 N.W.2d 498, 502 (Iowa Ct.App.2009).

Having been unsuccessful on his direct appeals, Harkins filed an application for postconviction relief. There he alleged four different bases for ineffective assistance, including an allegation that his counsel should have advised him not to testify at trial. The application was denied by the district court, and that denial was affirmed by the court of appeals on January 22, 2010. Harkins v. State, No. 08–2048, 2010 WL 200408 (Iowa Ct.App. Jan. 22, 2010).

Meanwhile, Harkins was incarcerated in the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. During 2007 and the first part of 2008, Harkins remained on the waiting list for the institution's sex offender treatment program (SOTP). On or about July 2, 2008, an opening in the SOTP became available. Harkins alleges, and the State does not dispute, that before he could participate in the program, Harkins had to sign a “Treatment Contract,” in which he “agree[d] to be completely honest and assume full responsibility for [his] offenses and [his] behavior.” Harkins refused to sign the contract and to participate in the SOTP. In response, on July 9, 2008, the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) suspended Harkins's earned time pursuant to Iowa Code section 903A.2(1)( a ) (2007).

Section 903A.2(1)( a ) states an inmate under the control of IDOC serving a category “A” sentence ¹ is eligible for earned-time credit “equal to one and two-tenths days for each day the inmate demonstrates good conduct and satisfactorily participates in any program ... identified by the director [of the department of corrections].” In addition to this general statement, the statute also provides that “an inmate required to participate in a sex offender treatment program shall not be eligible for a reduction of sentence unless the inmate participates in and completes a sex offender treatment program established by the director.” Iowa Code § 903A.2(1)( a ).

Following the suspension of his earned time, Harkins filed the application for postconviction relief at issue in this appeal. Harkins argued, essentially, that the suspension of his earned-time credits for failure to participate in the SOTP violated his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. In particular, Harkins alleged:

I have maintained innocen[c]e since day one. I had my appeal and am now going through postconviction relief with my case. I cannot enter treatment because this would be an admission of guilt and would perjur[e] myself in changing my story. Also it would hinder any chance at a new trial if I would sign a confession.

The district court granted Harkins's application in part and denied it in part. The district court determined that by conditioning Harkins's earned time upon his participation in the SOTP, in which Harkins would be required to acknowledge his criminal conduct, the State was unconstitutionally compelling Harkins to give testimony. However, the district court found the testimony would be potentially incriminating only until March 21, 2009, i.e., the last day on which the State could prosecute Harkins for perjury based upon his 2006 trial testimony. See Iowa Code § 802.3 (three-year statute of limitations). Accordingly, the district court ordered Harkins's earned time to be reinstated from July 9, 2008 through March 21, 2009, but suspended as of March 22, 2009, until he participated in and completed the SOTP.

Both Harkins and the State filed petitions for a writ of certiorari. Harkins argued the district court should not have suspended his accrual of earned time as of March 22, 2009. The State, in turn, argued the district court should have upheld its original decision to suspend Harkins's earned time as of July 9, 2008, the date when he refused to enter the treatment program. We granted the two petitions and consolidated the proceedings.

II. Standard of Review.

We normally review certiorari actions for correction of errors at law. Iowa R. Civ. P. 6.907; Johnson v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 756 N.W.2d 845, 847 (Iowa 2008). However, we have recognized a general exception to this standard of review when a certiorari action is brought alleging a violation of a constitutional right. State v. Cullison, 227 N.W.2d 121, 126 (Iowa 1975). In these circumstances, we make an independent evaluation of the totality of the circumstances under which the challenged ruling on the constitutional right was made. Id. That is, when a constitutional issue is presented, the evidence relevant to that issue is reviewed de novo. Lewis v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 555 N.W.2d 216, 218 (Iowa 1996).

III. Discussion and Analysis.

A. General Framework of Fifth Amendment Analysis. The Fifth Amendment, whose text we have quoted above, applies to the State of Iowa through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. ² State v. Walls, 761 N.W.2d 683, 685 (Iowa 2009) (citing Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 6, 84 S.Ct. 1489, 1492, 12 L.Ed.2d 653, 658 (1964)). The Fifth Amendment's guarantees extend to Harkins despite his conviction and imprisonment. Minnesota v. Murphy, 465 U.S. 420, 426, 104 S.Ct. 1136, 1141, 79 L.Ed.2d 409, 418 (1984).

In order for a party to show a violation of the privilege against self-incrimination, that party must show that he or she is being compelled to...