Doe v. Miller (8th Cir. 2004)

Doe v. Miller, 405 F.3d 700 (8th Cir. 2004)

Nature of Case: Does filed civil rights lawsuit after enactment of Iowa statute prohibiting residence within 2,000 feet of child care facility alleging various constitutional violations. District court granted judgment for plaintiffs, state appealed.

Holding: Eighth Circuit reversed judgment for plaintiffs, holding that statute:

• was not void for vagueness in the regard that it is difficult for those affected to know where they can live or not;
• was not violative of procedural due process;
• was not violative of substantive due process in that the residency restrictions do not implicate a fundamental right such as familial relationships;
• was not violative of right to interstate or intrastate travel;
• did not implicate fundamental right to establish a residence of one’s own choosing;
• rationally advanced an important governmental interest;
• was not violative of the 5th Amendments prohibition against self-incrimination;
• and statute was not punitive, and therefore did not constitute an impermissible retrospective punishment.