Opinion ID: 2047329
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Absence of a Recent Overt Act.

Text: Willis argues that, in order to restrict his liberty based on a prediction of his future behavior, due process requires proof of a recent overt act. He contends that such showing is absent with respect to his commitment. In Gonzales, 658 N.W.2d at 105, we determined that the act for which a person is presently confined, if a sexually violent act, may be deemed to be the recent overt act that due process requires. We continue to view the matter in this light. Determining whether a past act of sexual violence has become too stale to serve as a predictor of future acts of a similar nature is not a precise task. The significance of a recent overt act in predicting future conduct is not the act but the inference against a particular propensity that arises from the absence of an overt act. The absence of sexually predatory acts in a setting of secure confinement does not paint the same picture as the absence of such acts in a normal life situation. We have generally upheld the statutory scheme presented by Iowa Code chapter 229A against substantive due process challenges. See In re Detention of Garren, 620 N.W.2d 275, 282-83 (Iowa 2000). We reach a similar conclusion when focusing specifically on Willis's contention that a failure to require a showing of a recent overt act other than the act for which he was imprisoned violates substantive due process. Under principles of substantive due process, the State is prohibited from engaging in arbitrary or wrongful actions regardless of the fairness of the procedures used to implement them. Id. at 284. A person's liberty interest is constitutionally protected against arbitrary governmental action, but is not absolute. Id. The government may detain a mentally unstable individual who presents a danger to the public. Id. In not expressly requiring a recent overt act for petitions for commitment filed under section 229A.4(1), the legislature could reasonably conclude that the filing of a civil commitment petition must necessarily be delayed during the period of confinement under a criminal judgment and therefore allow a petition to be filed at the conclusion of that confinement notwithstanding the absence of an additional overt act.