Kris Kolzow v. State of Iowa

813 N.W.2d 731, 2012 WL 1557379, 2012 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 44
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMay 4, 2012
Docket11–0293
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 813 N.W.2d 731 (Kris Kolzow v. State of Iowa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kris Kolzow v. State of Iowa, 813 N.W.2d 731, 2012 WL 1557379, 2012 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 44 (iowa 2012).

Opinion

WATERMAN, Justice.

This case presents questions of first impression relating to sex offenders serving prison time on a “revocation of release” from a “special sentence” under Iowa Code section 903B.2 (2009): 1 whether the maximum time incarcerated — two years for the first • revocation — is reduced by (1) “earned-time credit” for good behavior under section 903A.2 or (2) by “jail-time credit” under section 903A.5. Kris Kolzow began serving his ten-year special sentence released on parole. A parole violation prompted his detention for five and one-half months in a county jail and work-release facility awaiting a hearing on whether to revoke his release. The administrative parole judge ordered Kolzow to prison “to serve a period not greater than two years as required by Code section 903B.2.” The Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) refused to shorten Kolzow’s prison time with earned-time credit or jail-time credit. The district court ruled both credits applied to reduce the maximum two-year period served in prison on the revocation of release. The court of appeals reversed, holding neither credit applied.

On further review, we interpret section 903B.2 by holding: (1) earned-time credit for good behavior under section 903A.2 accelerates completion of the ten-year special sentence, but IDOC is not otherwise required to apply the earned-time credit to reduce time incarcerated for a revocation *733 of release; and (2) the two-year maximum for the first revocation of release includes time spent in detention awaiting the revocation of release hearing. The district court erred in applying earned-time credit, but correctly awarded jail-time credit against the two-year period Kolzow was incarcerated for his revocation of release. This interpretation preserves IDOC’s statutory discretion to incarcerate parole violators to protect the public, without exceeding section 903B.2’s maximum periods for their revocation of release.

Accordingly, we vacate the decision of the court of appeals and reverse in part and affirm in part the district court’s ruling on credits. 2

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

The parties stipulated to the facts relevant to this postconviction proceeding. In October 2007, Kolzow was convicted of multiple offenses. The district court sentenced Kolzow to a seven-year prison term, suspended the sentence, and placed Kolzow on probation. Three of Kolzow’s convictions were sexual in nature, 3 triggering his ten-year special sentence under section 903B.2, entitled “Special sentence — class ‘D’ felonies or misdemeanors.” The district court imposed three special sentences to run concurrently after he completed his term of probation.

On May 21, 2009, IDOC discharged Kol-zow from probation. After entering into a parole agreement, Kolzow began his special sentence on May 29. On July 28, Kolzow was arrested for a parole violation. He was committed to the Wapello County Jail without bond. See Iowa Code § 908.2(2) (“Admittance to bail [in a parole revocation hearing] is discretionary ... not a matter of right.”). For the next five and one-half months, Kolzow remained detained in jail or a work-release facility awaiting his formal parole-revocation hearing.

On August 17, the administrative parole judge continued Kolzow’s revocation hearing for sixty days and ordered Kolzow to reside at the Ottumwa Work Release Center. On November 6, the administrative parole judge again continued Kolzow’s revocation hearing. On December 11, the judge ordered Kolzow to return to straight parole status. However, the ruling never went into effect because on December 8 Kolzow was arrested for a second parole violation. Kolzow was placed in the Wa-pello County Jail without bond.

On January 11, 2010, the administrative parole judge revoked Kolzow’s parole and sent him to prison at the Iowa Medical Classification Center “to serve a period not greater than two years as required by Code section 903B.2.” Kolzow’s revocation period began that day. The State stipulates that the revocation period is not a mandatory minimum sentence and that IDOC has discretion, which it has previously utilized, to release offenders from prison with less than two years served for the first revocation of release.

*734 IDOC applied earned-time credit to Kol-zow’s ten-year special sentence. Kolzow continued accruing earned-time credit throughout the parole-revocation proceedings. IDOC, however, did not apply earned-time credit or jail-time credit to reduce Kolzow’s two years served in prison for this revocation of release.

On October 25, Kolzow filed an application for postconviction relief, alleging IDOC must apply earned-time credit and jail-time credit to shorten his prison time. The district court granted Kolzow’s application. The district court concluded the legislature intended earned-time credit to apply to the two-year revocation period because it would be “an anomaly” to apply the credit to the ten-year special sentence and not the two-year revocation period. The district court also awarded jail-time credit, concluding “the two-year revocation period [is] essentially similar to a sentence.” The court of appeals reversed. The three-judge panel held earned-time and jail-time credit did not apply because the “revocation of release” period was not a “sentence.”

We granted Kolzow’s application for further review.

II. Standard of Review.

We review the district court’s construction of a statute in postconviction relief actions for correction of errors at law. Anderson v. State, 801 N.W.2d 1, 3 (Iowa 2011).

III. Special Sentence Provisions.

In 2005, the legislature simultaneously enacted two special sentence provisions that commit offenders convicted of sex crimes 4 to IDOC custody for supervision after completion of the offender’s sentence. See 2005 Iowa Acts ch. 158, §§ 39-40 (codified at Iowa Code §§ 903B.1-.2 (Supp. 2005)). Section 903B.2 states in full:

A person convicted of a misdemeanor or a class “D” felony offense under chapter 709, section 726.2, or section 728.12 shall also be sentenced, in addition to any other punishment provided by law, to a special sentence committing the person into the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections for a period of ten years, with eligibility for parole as provided in chapter 906. The special sentence imposed under this section shall commence upon completion of the sentence imposed under any applicable criminal sentencing provisions for the underlying criminal offense and the person shall begin the sentence under supervision as if on parole.

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Bluebook (online)
813 N.W.2d 731, 2012 WL 1557379, 2012 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 44, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kris-kolzow-v-state-of-iowa-iowa-2012.