In re Geltz

• Decision Date: 06 December 2013
• Docket Number: No. 12–0647.,12–0647.
• Citation: 840 N.W.2d 273
• Parties: In re the DETENTION OF Anthony GELTZ, Anthony Geltz, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

840 N.W.2d 273

In re the DETENTION OF Anthony GELTZ, Anthony Geltz, Appellant.

No. 12–0647.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Dec. 6, 2013.

Michael H. Adams, Chief Public Defender, Des Moines, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and John B. McCormally, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

WATERMAN, Justice.

This appeal presents the narrow question of whether a juvenile adjudication of delinquency on a charge of sexual abuse can serve as a predicate conviction to adjudicate the offender as a “sexually violent predator” (SVP) under Iowa Code section 229A.2(11) (2011). The district court ordered Anthony Geltz, then age eighteen, confined as an SVP at the Civil Commitment Unit for Sexual Offenders at the Cherokee Mental Health Institute, based on an offense Geltz committed at age fourteen. Geltz was charged as a juvenile and adjudicated delinquent for that offense in 2008, but has never had an adult conviction. He cannot be committed as an SVP without a qualifying prior conviction.

We must apply unambiguous operative statutory language as written without second-guessing the policy choices of the legislature. Iowa Code section 232.55(1) expressly provides that a juvenile adjudication “shall not be deemed a conviction of a crime,” and chapter 229A nowhere states that a juvenile adjudication can substitute for the predicate conviction required to commit an offender as an SVP. As further explained below, other Code provisions explicitly mention both convictions and juvenile adjudications together when the legislature chooses to impose the same consequences for each category of offense. Accordingly, we hold that a juvenile adjudication does not constitute a conviction within the meaning of section 229A.2(11). We therefore reverse the judgment and order of the district court that committed Geltz as an SVP.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Geltz was born in 1993. As a child, he was sexually abused by his mentally handicapped sister and by two adult men, one of whom lived in the family home. Geltz in turn abused his stepsister and other neighborhood children. At age twelve, Geltz was sent to live at the Annie Wittenmyer Home in Davenport. Two years later, Geltz escaped from Wittenmyer and went to a Chuck E. Cheese's® restaurant, where he sexually abused a child. Geltz was prosecuted as a juvenile and adjudicated delinquent for sexual abuse in the second degree. He was placed in the State Training School for Boys in Eldora and has remained institutionalized. At Eldora, he was disciplined a dozen times for infractions involving sexual misconduct.

After Geltz turned eighteen, the State petitioned on June 7, 2011, to have him declared an SVP. After hearing conflicting expert testimony, the district court evaluated Geltz under Iowa Code section 229A.2(11), which defines “sexually violent predator” as

a person who has been convicted of or charged with a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts constituting sexually violent offenses, if not confined in a secure facility.

The district court ruled Geltz's juvenile adjudication constituted a conviction and found he is an SVP. The district court therefore ordered him committed to the Cherokee facility. This appeal followed.

II. Scope of Review.

Geltz raises one issue in his appeal: whether the district court erred by ruling that his juvenile adjudication constitutes a conviction within the meaning of section 229A.2(11). We review the district court's construction of this chapter for correction of errors at law. In re Det. of Swanson, 668 N.W.2d 570, 575 (Iowa 2003).

III. Analysis.

Geltz argues that Iowa Code section 232.55(1) prohibits the State from using his juvenile adjudication as the conviction required under section 229A.2(11). The State argues that the term “convicted” in Iowa Code section 229A.2 (11) should be read broadly to include juvenile adjudications. We must decide this question of first impression as to the meaning of “convicted” in section 229A.2(11).

When interpreting chapter 229A and related statutes, “our primary goal is to give effect to the intent of the legislature.” In re Det. of Betsworth, 711 N.W.2d 280, 283 (Iowa 2006). We look “first and foremost to the language it chose in creating the act.” Swanson, 668 N.W.2d at 574. “We read the statute as a whole and give it its plain and obvious meaning, a sensible and logical construction, which does not create an impractical or absurd result.” Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). “ ‘If more than one statute relating to the subject matter at issue is relevant to the inquiry, we consider all the statutes together in an effort to harmonize them.’ ” Kolzow v. State, 813 N.W.2d 731, 736 (Iowa 2012) (quoting State v. Carpenter, 616 N.W.2d 540, 542 (Iowa 2000)).

We begin with the history of chapter 229A. In 1998, the Iowa legislature enacted a new chapter entitled “Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators,” placed within the Code subtitle pertaining to mental health. See 1998 Iowa Acts ch. 1171 (codified as amended at Iowa Code ch. 229A (1999)). The legislative findings in chapter 229A state:

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.... 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.... 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 should ... 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 (2011). We have recognized these findings “reveal the legislature's intent in creating the act: to ensure public safety and to provide ‘treatment of the committed individual rather than punishment.’ ” Swanson, 668 N.W.2d at 576 (quoting In re Det. of Garren, 620 N.W.2d 275, 280 (Iowa 2000)). “This legislative intent guides our resolution of the issues presented.” Id.; see also In re Det. of Blaise, 830 N.W.2d 310, 318, 322 (Iowa 2013) (analyzing section 229A.2(10)( g ) in light of the legislative intent expressed in section 229A.1).

The State argues the commitment of Geltz under chapter 229A furthers the legislative goals of protecting the public and ensuring he gets the long-term treatment he needs. The State notes that Geltz is now an adult and the SVP definition is based on behavior and mental state rather than age. The State predicts that upon his release from his current detention, Geltz will promptly reoffend. We share that concern, but are constrained by the language of the statutes. “ ‘Ours not to reason why, ours but to read, and apply. It is our duty to accept the law as the legislative body enacts it.’ ” Anderson v. State, 801 N.W.2d 1, 1 (Iowa 2011) (quoting Holland v. State, 253 Iowa 1006, 1011, 115 N.W.2d 161, 164 (1962)).

Against this backdrop, we focus now on the operative statutory language. Section 229A.2(11) defines “sexually violent predator” as

a person who has been convicted of or charged with a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts constituting sexually violent offenses, if not confined in a secure facility.

Iowa Code § 229A.2(11) (emphasis added). The parties disagree on the meaning of the term “convicted” in this definition.¹ As we have previously recognized, “ ‘conviction’ may have different meanings within different contexts.” State v. Kluesner, 389 N.W.2d 370, 372 (Iowa 1986); see also State v. Hanna, 179 N.W.2d 503, 507 (Iowa 1970) (“The word ‘conviction’ is of equivocal meaning, and its use in a statute presents a question of legislative intent.”).

We read the SVP statute in tandem with Iowa Code section 232.55(1). Found in the juvenile justice chapter of the Iowa Code, section 232.55 is entitled, “Effect of adjudication and disposition.” Subsection 1 states:

An adjudication or disposition in a proceeding under this division shall not be deemed a conviction of a crime and shall not impose any civil disabilities or operate to disqualify the child in any civil service application or appointment.

Iowa Code § 232.55(1). This subsection was enacted in 1978. See 1978 Iowa Acts ch. 1088, § 35 (codified at Iowa Code § 232.55 (1979)). Geltz argues that section 232.55(1) applies generally to limit the definition of “convicted” in chapter 229A to exclude juvenile adjudications. We agree.

The plain language of section 232.55(1) unambiguously provides that juvenile adjudications are not convictions. “When a statute is plain and its meaning clear, courts are not permitted to search for meaning beyond its express terms.” State v. Chang, 587 N.W.2d 459, 461 (Iowa 1998). Interpreting the term “convicted” in section 229A.2(11) to include juvenile adjudications would contradict the statutory command of section 232.55(1). We must read section 229A.2(11) together with 232.55(1), and we hold juvenile adjudications are not convictions for the purposes of committing an individual as an SVP. See Christiansen v. Iowa Bd. of Educ. Exam'rs, 831 N.W.2d 179, 189 (Iowa 2013) (“[T]he more specific provision controls over the general provision.”); State v. Rauhauser, 272 N.W.2d 432, 434 (Iow...