165 Iowa 697 | Iowa | 1914
I. The statute which is assailed as unconstitutional by this proceeding is chapter 249 of the Laws of the 35th G. A., which is known by the published title as the “Minimum Wage for Teachers in the Public Schools.” Sections 1 and 2 of such act fix certain rates of wages for school teachers, graded according to their proficiency as indicated by their official certificates. Sections 3 and 4 thereof are as follows:
Sec. 3. It shall be unlawful for any school board or any school officer to contract for or pay a less wage to any teacher in the public schools of this state than the minimum amounts herein fixed for the grade certificate held by such public school teacher. But nothing herein shall be construed as limiting the right to make a lawful contract for a higher wage than herein specified as a minimum.
See. 4. Any school officer violating the provisions of this act shall be fined a sum of not less than twenty-five ($25.00) dollars, nor more than one hundred ($100.00) dollars in the discretion of the court, and shall be suspended from office.
Information was filed against the plaintiff charging that as a school officer he entered into a contract with a teacher for the public school of his district for a less rate of wages than provided in such act. A warrant being issued on such information, he was arrested thereunder. He immediately sued out a writ of habeas corpus in this proceeding. We infer from the record that the criminal prosecution is undetermined and still pending awaiting the outcome hereof.
Appellant challenges the validity of the act as being in violation of sections 1 and 6 of article 1 of the Constitution of Iowa. Such sections are as follows:
Section 1. All men are, by nature,- free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.
Section 6. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation; the general assembly shall not grant to any
Whether the practical working of this legislation will meet the intended purpose can be determined only by experience. All new legislation is necessarily experimental and in a sense tentative. The courts cannot be called upon to guarantee its wisdom nor to condemn it for want of wisdom. All that we hold here is that the legislation in question herein is within the domain of legislative authority.
Sec. 5093. A felony is a public offense which is, or in the discretion of the court may be, punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary.
Sec. 5094. Every other public offense is a misdemeanor.
A misdemeanor is further defined by section 4905 of the Code as follows:
Sec. 4905. When the performance of any act is prohibited by any statute, and no penalty for the violation of such statute is imposed, the doing of such act is a misdemeanor.
It is well settled that it is not essential that any criminal statute shall declare in terms that its violation shall constitute a misdemeanor or felony. These terms are absent from a large number of our criminal statutes. The omission of these terms is fully supplied by the statutory definitions which we have just quoted. State v. Shea, 106 Iowa, 735; State v. York, 131 Iowa, 635; and State v. Conlee, 25 Iowa, 237, involved the construction of criminal statutes which prohibited certain acts. These statutes did not in terms declare their violation to be criminal, nor did they provide any penalty. It was held, nevertheless, that the violation of such statutes constituted misdemeanors under the definition of sections 4905, 5093, and 5094, and they were held to be indictable as such under the provisions of section 4906, which is as follows: ‘ ‘ Section 4906. Every person who is convicted of a misdemeanor, the punishment of which is not otherwise prescribed by any statute of this state, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county
Counsel for appellant differentiates the cited cases from the case at bar on the ground that the statute under contemplation in the case at bar does in terms provide a penalty for its violation, and that therefore it fails to come within the definition of section 4905 which purports to apply to cases where “no penalty” is provided. This contention, however, distorts the statute by concentrating its emphasis upon this particular expression. Considering all the above statutes of definition, it is rendered quite clear therefrom that the doing of an act in violation of statutory prohibition is a public offense. Such public offense will be a felony or a misdemeanor according to the punishment which may be imposed therefor. If the statute itself fixes the punishment, such provision will be controlling, and the classification of the public offense either as felony or as misdemeanor will be thereby determined. If such statute fixes no punishment, then sections 4905 and 4906 become controlling. The first fixes the classification of the offense as a misdemeanor and the second fixes the range of punishment. In the case at bar the statute does provide for punishment in the way of a fine. This of itself implies a public offense. The limitation of the fine to a sum not in excess of $100 classifies it as a misdemeanor. It is argued, however, that, because no imprisonment is imposed, a mere fine is collectible by civil action. For the purpose of the argument only, it may be conceded that a civil action may lie in an appropriate ease to recover a fine as distinguished from a penalty or forfeiture. Such actions, however, are usually based upon express statutory provisions. There is no. such provision in the statute under consideration. Neither does the statute fix the exact amount of fine which may be imposed. There is no way provided under our statutes whereby the amount of such fine can be determined except in a criminal prosecution. Section 5095 provides: ‘ ‘ Sec. 5095. No person can be punished for a public offense except
It is our conclusion therefore that the violation of the provisions of the statute in question by the plaintiff herein was a misdemeanor and triable and punishable as such, subject in extent to the limitations of the statute itself.
Its order is therefore — Affirmed.