In re Detention of Stenzel
Annotate this CaseRespondent was incarcerated with an approaching release when the State filed a petition alleging Respondent was a sexually violent predator (SVP) under Iowa's civil commitment statute. After a jury trial, Respondent was found to be an SVP. The primary issue on appeal was whether the State properly waited until the conclusion of Respondent's overall prison term to bring an SVP proceeding, when Respondent received consecutive sentences for a sexual abuse offense and a burglary/arson offense, with the sentence for burglary/arson to be served after the sentence for the sexual abuse offense. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a person receiving consecutive sentences, one of which is for a sexually violent offense, is "presently confined" within the meaning of the civil commitment statute, and thus, an SVP petition is timely filed if it is filed before the respondent's anticipated release from prison, as long as the current term of imprisonment includes a sentence for a sexually violent offense; (2) sufficient evidence supported the jury's verdict that Respondent was an SVP; but (3) it was error to admit expert testimony on the State's procedure for selecting persons against whom SVP proceedings are filed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.