903.1 Maximum sentence for misdemeanants.

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

1. If a person eighteen years of age or older is convicted of a simple or serious misdemeanor and a specific penalty is not provided for or if a person under eighteen years of age has been waived to adult court pursuant to section 232.45 on a felony charge and is subsequently convicted of a simple, serious, or aggravated misdemeanor, the court shall determine the sentence, and shall fix the period of confinement or the amount of fine, which fine shall not be suspended by the court, within the following limits:

a. For a simple misdemeanor, there shall be a fine of at least one hundred five dollars but not to exceed eight hundred fifty-five dollars. The court may order imprisonment not to exceed thirty days in lieu of a fine or in addition to a fine.

b. For a serious misdemeanor, there shall be a fine of at least four hundred thirty dollars but not to exceed two thousand five hundred sixty dollars. In addition, the court may also order imprisonment not to exceed one year.

2. When a person is convicted of an aggravated misdemeanor, and a specific penalty is not provided for, the maximum penalty shall be imprisonment not to exceed two years. There shall be a fine of at least eight hundred fifty-five dollars but not to exceed eight thousand five hundred forty dollars. When a judgment of conviction of an aggravated misdemeanor is entered against any person and the court imposes a sentence of confinement for a period of more than one year the term shall be an indeterminate term.

3. A person under eighteen years of age convicted of a simple misdemeanor under chapter 321, 321G, 321I, 453A, 461A, 461B, 462A, 481A, 481B, 483A, 484A, or 484B, or a violation of a county or municipal curfew or traffic ordinance, except for an offense subject to section 805.8, may be required to pay a fine, not to exceed one hundred dollars, as fixed by the court, or may be required to perform community service as ordered by the court.

4. The surcharges required by sections 911.1, 911.2A, and 911.5 shall be added to a fine imposed on a misdemeanant as provided in those sections, and are not a part of or subject to the maximums set in this section.

[C51, §2676; R60, §4303; C73, §3967; C97, §4906; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §12894; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §687.7; C79, 81, §903.1]

83 Acts, ch 183, §2, 3; 84 Acts, ch 1219, §39; 87 Acts, ch 149, §7; 88 Acts, ch 1158, §100; 88 Acts, ch 1167, §8, 9; 90 Acts, ch 1251, §66; 91 Acts, ch 240, §10; 92 Acts, ch 1160, §25; 93 Acts, ch 110, §10; 99 Acts, ch 153, §24; 2001 Acts, ch 168, §5; 2004 Acts, ch 1111, §8; 2004 Acts, ch 1119, §7; 2004 Acts, ch 1132, §95; 2006 Acts, ch 1166, §10, 11; 2014 Acts, ch 1097, §13; 2020 Acts, ch 1074, §17, 46, 93

Referred to in §124.401, 207.15, 228.7, 232.8, 331.302, 331.909, 364.3, 380.10, 709.15, 724.4A, 907.14