Atwood v. Vilsack

338 F. Supp. 2d 985, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20194, 2004 WL 2267218
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedSeptember 30, 2004
Docket4:02 CV 90359
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 338 F. Supp. 2d 985 (Atwood v. Vilsack) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atwood v. Vilsack, 338 F. Supp. 2d 985, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20194, 2004 WL 2267218 (S.D. Iowa 2004).

Opinion

ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PRATT, District Judge.

On July 23, 2002, numerous individuals detained pursuant to Iowa Codq Chapter 229A filed a Complaint against the Defendants, seeking equitable and injunctive relief for: 1) denial of speedy justice and imposition of double jeopardy; 2) unnecessarily harsh and coercive conditions of confinement; 3) detention in contravention of statute; 4) failure to provide a therapeutically appropriate pre-commitment environment; 5) discriminatory treatment contravening the Americans with Disabilities Act; 6) denial of bail; 7) denial of individualized risk assessment and placement; and 8) denial of due process. The matter was certified as a class action in June 2003. Before the Court are Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Clerk’s No. 45) and Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify the bail entitlement issue to the Iowa Supreme Court (Clerk’s No. 69). Defendants have resisted the summary judgment motion and the matter is fully submitted.

I. FACTS

Plaintiffs in this action are “[a]ll present and future pretrial detainees held by the Iowa Department of Corrections, awaiting hearing on their Iowa Code Chapter 229A petition, or who were - committed pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 229A.” See Class Definition filed 6/4/2003. Iowa Code Chapter 229A provides for the civil commitment of sexually violent predators. The legislative findings leading to enactment of Chapter 229A in 1998 are articulated in Section 229A.1:

The general assembly finds that a small but extremely dangerous group of sexually violent predators exists which is made up of persons who do not have a mental disease or defect that renders them appropriate for involuntary treatment pursuant to the treatment provisions for mentally ill persons under chapter 229, since that chapter is intended to provide short-term treatment to persons with serious mental disorders and then return them to the community. In contrast to persons appropriate for civil commitment under chapter 229, sexually violent predators generally have antisocial personality features that are unamenable to existing mental illness treatment modalities and that render them likely to engage in sexually violent behavior. The general assembly finds that sexually violent predators’ likelihood of engaging in repeat acts of predatory sexual violence is high and that the existing involuntary commitment procedure under chapter 229 is inadequate to address the risk these sexually violent predators pose to society.
The general assembly further finds that the prognosis for rehabilitating sexually violent predators in a prison setting is poor, because the treatment needs of this population are very long-term, and the treatment modalities for this population are very different from the traditional treatment modalities available in a prison setting or for persons appropriate *991 for commitment under chapter 229. Therefore, the general assembly finds that a civil commitment procedure for the long-term care and treatment of the sexually violent predator is necessary. The procedures regarding sexually violent predators should reflect legitimate public safety concerns, while providing treatment services designed to benefit sexually violent predators who are civilly committed. The procedures should also reflect the need to protect the public, to respect the needs of the victims of sexually violent offenses, and to encourage full, meaningful participation of sexually violent predators in treatment programs.

Iowa Code § 229A.1 (2004).

Defendants in this action are various persons or entities responsible for the implementation of Chapter 229A. The Iowa Department of Corrections (“IDOC”), under the authority of its director, W.L. Kautzky, 1 has assumed de facto responsibility and custody of the class members in this action, hereinafter referred to as the “Safekeepers,” or simply as “Plaintiffs.” Chapter 229A provides that the agency with jurisdiction over potential candidates for commitment as Sexually Violent Predators (“SVPs”), generally the IDOC, must provide written notice to the attorney general and a multidisciplinary team 2 no later than ninety days prior to:

a.The anticipated discharge of a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense from total confinement, except that in the case of a person who is returned to prison for no more than ninety days as a result of revocation of parole, written notice shall be given as soon as practicable following the person’s readmission to prison.
b. The discharge of a person who has been charged with a sexually violent offense and who has been determined to be incompetent to stand trial pursuant to chapter 812.
c. The discharge of a person who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity of a sexually violent offense.

Iowa Code § 229A.3(1). Within thirty days of receiving notice that an individual is a candidate for SVP commitment, the multidisciplinary team “shall assess whether or not the person meets the definition of a sexually violent predator.” 3 Iowa Code § 229A.3(4)(1). A review committee appointed by the attorney general then must review the records of each SVP candidate, including the assessment of the multidisciplinary team, to determine whether the individual qualifies as a sexually violent predator. Iowa Code § 229A.3(5).

If the prosecutor’s review committee finds that a confined person qualifies as an SVP, the attorney general may then file a petition alleging that the person is an SVP and stating the facts supporting the allega *992 tion. Id. at 229A.4(1). 4 Once a petition is filed, a court must determine whether the individual should be transferred to “an appropriate secure facility.” Within seventy-two hours of being taken into custody or transferred to such “appropriate secure facility,” a court hearing must be held wherein a determination is made as to whether probable cause exists to believe that the person named in the petition is an SVP. Id. at 229A.5(1). The hearing may be waived by the accused SVP or may be continued by either party upon a showing of good cause. Id. at 229A.5(2). If, after the hearing, the court determines that probable cause exists, the court “shall direct that the respondent be transferred to an appropriate secure facility for an evaluation as to whether the respondent is a sexually violent predator.” Id. at 229A.5(5).

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Bluebook (online)
338 F. Supp. 2d 985, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20194, 2004 WL 2267218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atwood-v-vilsack-iasd-2004.