IA: Ex parte order to drug test a parent in custody case was unreasonable

An ex parte order to compel a parent in a custody case to be drug tested was unreasonable. In the Interest of A.C., 2014 Iowa App. LEXIS 731 (July 16, 2014):

In sum, we find no statutory authority to support the district court’s ex parte pre-adjudication parental drug-testing order, nor do we find that the court had inherent authority to enter such an order. What was inherent was the prejudice to the father. Because the original order was entered ex parte, the father had no opportunity to raise the absence of authority to support drug testing at this stage. While he could have refused to comply with the order, he then would have faced immediate removal of the children. We conclude the probative value of those portions of the child protective assessment report making reference to the drug test and drug test result was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice to the father. Those portions of the report should not have been admitted. The remainder of the report, including the summaries of the investigator’s interviews with the father and others and the department’s opinions and conclusions were admissible. See In re Long, 313 N.W.2d 473, 480-81 (Iowa 1981).