Iowa court misses deadline, but still no release for sexual predator

September 23, 2011

Des Moines, Iowa: Though the state missed a hearing deadline for convicted sexual predator Harold Johnson, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that it was not cause for his release. Johnson, who has been in the state's violent sexual predator program since 2001, had a hearing regarding his status in February of 2009. However, that hearing did not occur within the deadline of 60 days from when it was ordered. The jury determined that Johnson was to remain in custody.

The point of controversy was whether or not the law dictated a hearing to begin 60 days from the date it was ordered or if it must merely be scheduled within that time frame. Johnson's attorney argued the former, claiming that his client should be released since his rights were violated. The district court ruled in his favor, but the Court of Appeals overturned the ruling, taking the position that the hearing must only be scheduled within 60 days. In the end, the Supreme Court had the last say. The justices ruled that Johnson's rights were indeed violated by the delay of the court, but that he should not be released for reasons of public safety. They wrote that releasing him "without any substantive determination on the propensity to reoffend thwarts the Legislature's public safety and rehabilitative goals."