DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - The Iowa Supreme Court overruled a precedent allowing money damages for constitutional violations after just six years, deciding its earlier decision intruded on the powers of the legislature and proved unworkable in practice.
The decision brought an end to a lawsuit by Cory Burnett, a garbage-truck driver who was arrested after refusing to cooperate with a vehicle inspection, telling the police officer “I’m fine with going to jail, I really am.” After a charge of interfering with an officer were dismissed, Burnett sued the arresting officer and the State of Iowa, claiming they violated his rights under the Iowa Constitution.
The Iowa Supreme Court allowed such suits for money damages for the first time in a 2017 decision, Godfrey v. State, noting a trio of U.S. Supreme Court decision from the 1970s and 1980s had opened the door. Three justices dissented led by Justice Edward Mansfield, saying Article XII of the state constitution states the general assembly must pass all laws to bring the constitution into effect. They also noted that money damages were discussed and rejected during the Iowa constitutional debates in 1857.
The Godfrey era came to an end in a unanimous May 5 decision, this time written by Justice Edwards.
“Godfrey was wrongly decided,” he wrote. “We respectfully believe that Godfrey misinterpreted the relevant constitutional text, misread Iowa precedent, and overlooked important constitutional history.”
Burnett claimed the arresting officer violated his due process rights under Article 1 of the Iowa Constitution. After the officer pulled him over for a broken windshield, he told Burnett he was going to inspect his vehicle and asked him to turn the lights on and off. Burnett refused, saying he’d give the officer the keys and he could test the lights himself.
After several minutes of a verbal standoff that was captured on video in which Burnett said he was willing to go to jail, “the driver got his wish,” the court observed. The officer led him to the police car and asked him to get in the front seat, but Burnett said he wanted to ride in the back. The officer said he had too much stuff in the back but Burnett responded he wanted to ride there “like all common decent criminals.” Once in the car, he asked “is it too late to change my mind?”
“Once the cuffs are on, it’s too late,” the officer said.
After Burnett sued, the state moved for summary judgment, arguing there is no inalienable right to refuse an officer’s commands. It also argued Godfrey should be overruled. A district court dismissed his case and the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the dismissal.
After Godfrey became the law of the land, the Supreme Court noted, it had raised numerous questions including whether qualified immunity applied, if there was a statute of limitations, and whether punitive damages were available. The court’s own decisions were inconsistent, deferring to the legislature on punitive damages but modifying its position in a second opinion involving excessive force.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court in Egbert v. Boule, a 2022 decision, distanced itself from earlier cases allowing money damages for constitutional violations, ruling that “in all but the most unusual circumstances, prescribing a cause of action is a job for Congress, not the courts.” And the Iowa legislature in 2021 amended the Tort Claims Act to state it shouldn’t be read as a waiver of sovereign immunity for claims for money damages under the state constitution.
“Our constitution is our highest law. It supersedes ordinary legislation to the contrary,” the court concluded. “But in most areas, it does not come with a private damages remedy. And it does not need our artificial assistance, in the form of a damages remedy not contemplated by our framers, to maintain that supremacy.”