State of Iowa v. Timothy Allen Willard

Summary

The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed Timothy Allen Willard’s conviction for violating Iowa’s two-thousand-foot residency restriction for certain sex offenders. The court held that Iowa Code section 692A.2A was not a bill of attainder and did not violate equal protection or procedural due process. The court declined to consider the right-to-interstate-travel claim because Willard failed to preserve it, and additionally concluded that the claim lacked merit.

Holdings

1. Iowa Code section 692A.2A is not a bill of attainder because the residency restriction is not criminal punishment imposed solely because of class membership, and Willard received judicial process when prosecuted for violating the restriction.
2. Willard failed to establish that section 692A.2A violates equal protection.
3. Iowa Code section 692A.2A does not violate procedural due process, and Willard was not entitled to an individualized predeprivation hearing to determine whether he was dangerous or qualified for an exemption.
4. The right-to-travel claim was not preserved for appellate review and therefore could not provide a basis for reversal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Iowa Code section 692A.2A constitutes a bill of attainder.
2. Whether Iowa Code section 692A.2A violates equal protection under the United States and Iowa Constitutions.
3. Whether Iowa Code section 692A.2A violates procedural due process by restricting residence without an individualized hearing concerning dangerousness or an exemption.
4. Whether the residency restriction violates the constitutional right to interstate travel.

Disposition

affirmed