State v. Davis

LAVORATO, Justice.

We granted the State’s application for discretionary review in these two simple misdemeanor cases so we could answer the question whether Iowa’s domestic abuse statute requires a mandatory minimum two-day jail term. We hold that it does when the sentencing court does not grant a deferred judgment or sentence. We vacate the sentences of fines only in both cases. We remand both cases for resentencing.

In separate actions in the fall of 1991, James Robert Sagert and Marilyn Suzette Davis were charged with first offense domestic abuse assault under Iowa Code sections 708.1 and…