Opinion ID: 2334086
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The statute is ambiguous

Text: Section 632.483.1(1) provides that the department of corrections is to give notice to the attorney general [w]ithin three hundred sixty days prior to the anticipated release ... of a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense. The State argues a plain reading of this statute permits proceedings against any inmate convicted of a predicate offense, regardless of when the offense occurred, who will soon be released from the State's custody. Holtcamp argues that, in the context of all the sexually violent predator law provisions, the predicate offense must be the one the inmate is currently serving. Holtcamp provides a reasonable interpretation of the statute but no compelling justification for construing the statute narrowly. Similarly, the State's interpretation is reasonable yet divines more from the statute than is apparent. Because the language of the statute is ambiguous  its plain language does not answer the current dispute as to its meaning  the Court turns to established rules of construction.