State of Iowa v. John Penn-Kennedy
862 N.W.2d 384
Iowa2015Background
- Officers found Penn-Kennedy sitting in a running vehicle after reports he was about to drive intoxicated; he failed field sobriety and a preliminary breath test.
- Without being told he was under arrest, officers handcuffed and transported him to the station; he injured his foot and was taken to a hospital where he refused a blood test but gave a urine sample.
- At the hospital officers then informed him he was under arrest for public intoxication; a complaint and prosecution for public intoxication (a simple misdemeanor) were filed and he was released after initial appearance.
- Toxicology later showed his alcohol concentration exceeded the legal limit for OWI; 120 days after the initial arrest the State charged him with OWI by complaint and later filed a trial information.
- Penn-Kennedy moved to dismiss the OWI charge under Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.33(2)(a) (speedy indictment), arguing he reasonably believed he had been arrested for OWI and the 45-day indictment period was triggered by the January arrest; the district court denied dismissal, the court of appeals reversed, and the Iowa Supreme Court granted further review.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the speedy-indictment rule was triggered for OWI by the earlier arrest for public intoxication | State: Rule triggered only for the offense charged at arrest; prosecution for public intoxication proceeded so rule not triggered for OWI | Penn-Kennedy: Under Wing, a reasonable belief of arrest for OWI triggered the 45-day indictment period for OWI | Held: Rule not triggered for OWI because arrest/prosecution for a separate offense (public intoxication) was not a suspended prosecution for OWI; speedy-indictment applies to the offense charged at arrest and lesser included offenses only |
| Whether Wing extends to permit defendants to invoke speedy-indictment for any crime they reasonably believe they were arrested for | State: Wing is limited to situations where a warrantless arrest is not followed by any prosecution, causing a suspended prosecution | Penn-Kennedy: Wing should apply broadly to all crimes a defendant reasonably believes prompted arrest | Held: Wing is narrow and applies only where no prosecution followed the arrest; it does not require dismissal of separately prosecuted offenses arising from same incident |
| Whether the court may look behind the complaint to determine if probable cause supported the charged offense for speedy-indictment purposes | Penn-Kennedy: Implicitly argued the public-intoxication charge lacked probable cause so OWI should have been treated as the arresting charge | State: Speedy-indictment rule relies on arrest as trigger and does not probe complaint's probable-cause basis; other rules allow pre-indictment challenge | Held: Court will not look behind the complaint under speedy-indictment rule; probable-cause challenges belong to other procedures (e.g., rule 2.2(4)) |
| Whether public intoxication can be a lesser included offense of OWI affecting the speedy-indictment scope | Penn-Kennedy: (implicit) offenses are related so speedy-indictment should cover OWI | State: Public intoxication is not a lesser included offense of OWI; different elements and contexts | Held: Public intoxication is not a lesser included offense of OWI; speedy-indictment for one does not trigger for the other |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Wing, 791 N.W.2d 243 (Iowa 2010) (reasonable-person test for when a warrantless arrest triggers the speedy-indictment period; applies when no prosecution promptly follows)
- State v. Sunclades, 305 N.W.2d 491 (Iowa 1981) (45-day period applies only to the offense for which the defendant was arrested and lesser included offenses)
- State v. Dennison, 571 N.W.2d 492 (Iowa 1997) (speedy-indictment rule should be limited to the crime of arrest to avoid impeding prosecutorial charging decisions)
- State v. Combs, 316 N.W.2d 880 (Iowa 1982) (permitting separate prosecutions for different offenses arising from same incident)
- State v. Lake, 476 N.W.2d 55 (Iowa 1991) (public intoxication and OWI are not sufficiently related; public intoxication in a private vehicle is not a public-offense lesser included in OWI)
- State v. Eichorn, 325 N.W.2d 95 (Iowa 1982) (subsequent distinct charges arising from same incident not barred by speedy-indictment after earlier charge)
- State v. Delockroy, 559 N.W.2d 43 (Iowa Ct. App. 1996) (arrest exists where defendant is taken into custody and transported to station even if later released without charges)
- State v. Davis, 525 N.W.2d 837 (Iowa 1994) (speedy-indictment violation where officers delayed filing to impede prosecution)
- State v. Lies, 566 N.W.2d 507 (Iowa 1997) (charging related but distinct offenses separately is permissible)