{"id":2398,"date":"2025-04-04T11:48:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=2398"},"modified":"2025-04-04T11:48:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:48:43","slug":"flaws-in-the-laws-part-vii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?p=2398","title":{"rendered":"Flaws in the laws &#8211; Part VII"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/?attachment_id=113\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-113\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-113\" src=\"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/webeagle2-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iowappa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/webeagle2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/iowappa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/webeagle2.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>Apparently, research at the Iowa Capitol is a thing of the past.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.iowa.gov\/legislation\/BillBook?ga=91&amp;ba=sf397\">Senate File 397<\/a> passed the Iowa Senate and House with a total of two<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> \u201cnay\u201d votes between the two chambers and is waiting for the governor\u2019s signature. SF 397 is a bill that enhances penalties for assault on people employed in certain occupations. The list of those occupations (included below) adds \u201cjuvenile detention staff and employees of the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) who conduct investigations or inspections to the long list of occupations.\u201d The floor manager in the House made a remark that the bill added a \u201cprotected class,\u201d as if this is class warfare.<\/p>\n<p>.A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.iowa.gov\/docs\/publications\/FN\/1523599.pdf\">Legislative Fiscal Note<\/a> issued by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates there will be an increase \u201cpenalties for assaults on persons in certain occupations.\u201d The Fiscal Note also believes there \u201cmay disproportionately impact Black individuals if trends remain constant.\u201d If you don\u2019t care, you should. America has a higher incarceration rate than any other civilized country in the world<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In FY 2024, there were 27 individuals admitted to prison, 9 individuals admitted to parole, and 125 individuals admitted to probation for the most serious offense under Iowa Code section 708.3A. Under the Bill, the DOC estimates that prison and parole admissions and LOS (length of stay) would be increased. The probation counts would be redistributed given the enhancements, since some individuals would be ordered to prison under the Bill.<\/p>\n<p>The list of occupations affected by this legislation includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>peace officer<\/li>\n<li>jailer<\/li>\n<li>correctional or juvenile detention staff<\/li>\n<li>member or employee of the board of parole<\/li>\n<li>health care provider<\/li>\n<li>employee of the department of health and human services<\/li>\n<li>employee of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing who conducts investigations or inspections<\/li>\n<li>employee of the department of revenue<\/li>\n<li>national guard member engaged in national guard duty or state active duty<\/li>\n<li>civilian employee of a law enforcement agency<\/li>\n<li>civilian employee of a fire department, or fire fighter, whether paid or volunteer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s a lot of Iowans. You could be charged with a class \u201cC\u201d felony if you should assault<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a> someone who worked in one of those occupations. However, the law does not state that the assault must occur while the person in the occupation is \u201con the job.\u201d It\u2019s just another \u201cflaw in the law.\u201d That means that a dispute between you and your neighbor, who happens to be a \u201chealth care provider,\u201d may lead to you being charged with a class \u201cC\u201d felony, punishable by \u201cno more than ten years, and in addition shall be sentenced to a fine of at least one thousand three hundred seventy dollars but not more than thirteen thousand six hundred sixty dollars.\u201d That\u2019s pretty steep for slapping your neighbor (ala <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/movies\/will-smith-addresses-slapping-chris-rock-oscars\/\">Will Smith v. Chris Rock<\/a>). But wait, you don\u2019t even need to slap her. Iowa Code section 708.1(1)(b) defines an assault as \u201cAny act which is intended to place another in fear of immediate physical contact which will be painful, injurious, insulting, or <strong>offensive<\/strong>, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the act.\u201d [Emphasis mine.] So, just raising your hand to slap your neighbor will contain the necessary elements of the crime under subsection (1)(b). I am not an attorney, but it seems to me that it may be the case for most instances while using the plain language of the law<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a>, especially when the law emphasizes that a member of the National Guard must be \u201cengaged in national guard duty or state active duty,\u201d but requires no \u201con-the-job\u201d requirement for other occupations.<\/p>\n<p>The bill also adds saliva to the list of offensive objects resulting in an \u201cemployee\u2019s contact with blood, seminal fluid, urine<u>,<\/u> or feces [] that is intended to cause pain or injury or be insulting or offensive and that results in blood, seminal fluid, urine, saliva, or feces being cast or expelled upon an employee of the jail or institution or facility under the control of the department of corrections.\u201d This part of the bill could have stood alone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Back to the lack of research<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Enhancing penalties for these crimes is counter-productive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResearch on crime deterrence shows that increasing punishment severity does little to prevent crime. This is partly because criminals seldom know the legal sanctions for specific crimes.<a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a>\u201d But it\u2019s more than that; assaulting a person in an occupation that deals with the public on a continuous basis is usually the result of rage, impairment, mental issues, miscommunication, or some other factor lacking in logic or rationale<a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I have always called this type of legislation an \u201cAnimal Farm\u201d bill<a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[7]<\/a>. I know it wouldn\u2019t hold up in court, but I like to believe that laws such as this violate Iowa\u2019s Constitution, Article 1, section 1: \u201cAll men and women are, by nature, free and <strong>equal<\/strong>, and have certain inalienable rights \u2013 among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These assault laws protect no one. There can be no preventive measure to the law because someone who is going to strike another rarely weighs the consequences. There can be only two results to this madness. Time in prison can mean the incarcerated individual learns from other inmates about better ways to commit crimes<a href=\"#_ftn8\" name=\"_ftnref8\">[8]<\/a>. Also, it can satisfy the person in a certain occupation to know that their attacker is going to be punished more than if they were an \u201caverage\u201d Iowan. That is known as revenge. Archie Bunker said: \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with revenge, Edith. It\u2019s the best way to get even with someone.\u201d Is that what Iowans want \u2013 revenge?<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, enhancing penalties do very little but provide prosecutors additional options to offer in plea bargains. Iowa legislators need to perform more research and prevent passing bills that may seem to make sense and provide a comforting election brochure item, but only add to more senseless incarceration and crime statistics.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> Representatives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.iowa.gov\/legislators\/legislator?ga=91&amp;personID=33992\">Elinor Levin<\/a> (D-Iowa City) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.iowa.gov\/legislators\/legislator?ga=91&amp;personID=774\">Beth Wessel-Kroeschell<\/a> (D-Ames).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/country-rankings\/incarceration-rates-by-country\">https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/country-rankings\/incarceration-rates-by-country<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legis.iowa.gov\/docs\/code\/708.1.pdf\">https:\/\/www.legis.iowa.gov\/docs\/code\/708.1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> \u201cWe do not search for legislative intent beyond the express language of a statute when that language is plain and the meaning is clear.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar_case?case=12274868887142087819&amp;q=%22plain+language%22&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=4,16&amp;as_ylo=2024\"><em>Voss v. Iowa Dep&#8217;t of Transp.,<\/em>\u00a0621 N.W.2d 208, 211 (Iowa 2001)<\/a>.\u201d <strong>McGill v. Fish, 790 NW 2d 113 (Iowa 2010).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/gigafact.org\/fact-briefs\/does-increasing-the-penalties-for-a-crime-reduce-the-incidence-of-that-crime\/\">https:\/\/gigafact.org\/fact-briefs\/does-increasing-the-penalties-for-a-crime-reduce-the-incidence-of-that-crime\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/workplace-violence\/\">https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/workplace-violence\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a> \u2018All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/interestingliterature.com\/2020\/05\/a-summary-and-analysis-of-george-orwells-animal-farm\/\">https:\/\/interestingliterature.com\/2020\/05\/a-summary-and-analysis-of-george-orwells-animal-farm\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref8\" name=\"_ftn8\">[8]<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2013\/02\/01\/169732840\/when-crime-pays-prison-can-teach-some-to-be-better-criminals\">https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2013\/02\/01\/169732840\/when-crime-pays-prison-can-teach-some-to-be-better-criminals<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Please help Fawkes-Lee &amp; Ryan maintain this website by donating $10, $20, $30, $50, $100, or more.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?business=Y8DP2NU226YME&amp;no_recurring=0&amp;item_name=Help+Fawkes-Lee+%26+Ryan+continue+to+post+blogs+and+other+information+by+supporting+us+with+a+donation.&amp;currency_code=USD\"><strong>Donate<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Your support is appreciated.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe (It\u2019s FREE): Email\u00a0mrtyryn@gmail.com\u00a0with \u201cSubscribe\u201d in the Subject Line.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fawkes-Lee &amp; Ryan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2516 Lynner Dr.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Des Moines, IA 50310<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Copyright (c) 2025. 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