The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa is suing the city of Davenport over an ordinance that fines parents up to $750 the third time their child is suspected of breaking a law or violating curfew.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Scott County District Court, alleges the parental responsibility ordinance is illegal because it holds parents liable for the actions of another person they may be unable to control. The ordinance also violates family privacy laws and overextends Davenport's home rule authority, the lawsuit says.


The suit was filed on behalf of Anne Hensler, a Davenport mother who was cited last year when her son, Nicholas, 16, was charged with drug possession in November and a curfew violation in December.

"She's a single parent who reads all the books and goes to juvenile court when she should. She's just having a difficult time with a difficult teenager," said Michael McCarthy, a Davenport attorney representing Hensler.

Hensler was attending a funeral Wednesday and declined to comment on the case.

The Davenport City Council adopted the parental responsibility code in 2001 after finding "an increase in the number of criminal acts committed by juveniles," the ordinance states.

"Those who bring children into the world, or those who assume a parenting role, but who fail to effectively teach, train, guide and control them should be accountable to the community under the law," the ordinance states.

The Davenport city attorney's office and City Manager Craig Malin did not return phone calls Wednesday about the ordinance or the ACLU lawsuit.

Under the ordinance, parents receive a warning letter the first time a juvenile is charged with breaking a law or violating curfew. The second offense requires parents to take parenting classes or be cited for contempt of court. Third and subsequent offenses can bring fines of $100 to $750 for each day the offense occurs, the ordinance says.

Parents are presumed to have violated the ordinance unless they establish they kept drugs out of the house, kept guns locked up, took "reasonable and responsible action" to prevent illegal acts or curfew violations, hired responsible child care providers and sought assistance from appropriate service agencies, the ordinance says.

The ACLU of Iowa says this unfairly requires parents to prove their innocence.

"The burden should be on the government," said Ben Stone, executive director of the group. "Cities think they can label something civil and lower the standard of proof."

American cities have been trying for decades to hold parents accountable for their kids' actions through parental responsibility codes. A Trenton, N.J., ordinance was struck down in 1976 after it was found to violate parents' constitutional right to due process, McCarthy said. Other codes have gone unchallenged.

In 1997, Muscatine became the first Iowa community to draft a parental responsibility ordinance.

"It hasn't been challenged," Muscatine City Attorney Harvey Allbee Jr. said.

The Muscatine ordinance gives parents a warning the first time their child commits a crime or violates any ordinance except those relating to traffic. Parents face a civil penalty of $50 for a second offense within two years. Third and subsequent offenses carry a $100 penalty, and the parent must complete a parenting class or do community service.

Allbee said he couldn't remember anyone being fined under the Muscatine ordinance. "The whole concept was to get the parents' attention so they will be a little more proactive," he said.

West Des Moines passed an ordinance in December that holds parents accountable for being "social hosts" of gatherings where underage drinking occurs. Fines range from $500 to $1,000. The ordinance has not yet been tested in court.