Law that holds parents responsible for children’s actions facing legal challenge

A Davenport city ordinance that holds parents responsible when their children are arrested or cited for crimes came under scrutiny by Iowa's highest court Tuesday.

The Iowa Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Anne Hensler, a Davenport mother who was cited under the law when her son was accused of drug possession and a curfew violation.

Hensler took the city to court to challenge the ordinance, arguing that she had the right to parent free from undue intrusion by the state. A Scott County judge ruled in her favor, but the city appealed to the Supreme Court.

Under the ordinance, parents of minors who are arrested or cited for crimes are sent warning letters on the first offense. Parents are required to complete parenting classes on the second offense and could face fines of up to $750 on the third.

Davenport City Attorney Tom Warner said the ordinance brought down juvenile crime in the city, before the court ruling last year put the enforcement of it on hold.

He said the law serves as a strong nudge for parents to get help, and he is optimistic that the state's highest court will uphold it. Warner was unaware of other similar laws in Iowa.

Part of the arguments Tuesday centered around whether the law should be allowed to stay in place when the state already has a juvenile court system to handle delinquency cases.

Warner said the city's parental responsibility ordinance is complementary to the juvenile system, which moves more slowly.

“They may get arrested multiple times and get into even more trouble while this juvenile court matter is pending. This is designed to get to them faster,” Warner said of the ordinance.

Parents who take one of six actions outlined in the ordinance to exercise parental control - such as requiring the child to observe a curfew or ensuring the child regularly attends school - can use that as a defense.

Attorney Randall Wilson of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa argued that Davenport's law violates due process rights and intrudes on parental autonomy.