State of Iowa v. James Robert Downey, 2017 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 34

On January 14, 2015 James Downey submitted an application to acquire a weapon permit to the Johnson County sheriff; he signed a certification warning that knowingly making a false statement of material fact on the application is a class “D” felony under Iowa Code § 724.17.
The front of the statutory form required only name, driver’s license/ID number, residence, and date/place of birth; the DPS form’s reverse contained ten yes/no questions (including a question about prior felony convictions) not expressly listed in § 724.17.
Downey checked “No” to the question asking whether he had ever been convicted of a felony; a background check later revealed a prior felony OWI conviction and the sheriff denied the application.
The State charged Downey under § 724.17 for making a false statement on the application; after a bench trial the district court convicted and sentenced him; the court of appeals affirmed.
The Iowa Supreme Court granted further review and held the district court misinterpreted § 724.17: the statute’s phrase “shall require only” limits what the DPS may require on the application, and unauthorized questions cannot form the basis for a § 724.17 felony prosecution.
The court vacated the court of appeals decision, reversed the district court judgment, and remanded with instructions to dismiss.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the phrase “shall require only” in § 724.17 permits the DPS to include questions beyond the statutorily enumerated fields	The State: phrase sets a minimum (floor); DPS may include additional questions on the form	Downey: phrase is limiting; legislature intended to prohibit additional required questions	Court: “shall require only” is limiting—DPS not authorized to require additional questions
Whether a false answer to a question not authorized by § 724.17 can support a felony prosecution under that statute	The State: false statements on the form (including reverse-side questions) fall within § 724.17 and support conviction	Downey: unauthorized questions cannot create criminal liability under § 724.17	Court: § 724.17 criminalizes false statements only on the statutorily required fields; unauthorized questions cannot form the basis for conviction

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) (recognized individual right to possess firearms for self-defense in the home)
McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) (extended Heller protections to state and local governments)
In re N.V., 744 N.W.2d 634 (Iowa 2008) (construed statutory use of “only” as limiting language)
State v. Tarbox, 739 N.W.2d 850 (Iowa 2007) (statutory interpretation — give words their ordinary meaning)
State v. Fuhrmann, 261 N.W.2d 475 (Iowa 1978) (legislature defines crimes)
In re Det. of Swanson, 668 N.W.2d 570 (Iowa 2003) (statutes read as a whole to avoid absurd results)