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Sexually Violent Persons — dismissal

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//July 16, 2014//

Sexually Violent Persons — dismissal

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//July 16, 2014//

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Criminal

Sexually Violent Persons — dismissal

A petition filed under Chapter 980 cannot be invalidated, even though the conviction recited in the petition is later reversed.

“As illustrated by Carpenter and Virlee, any number of conceivable circumstances may arise after a Chapter 980 petition has been filed that relate to its underlying allegations. Under Spaeth’s reasoning, if such circumstances arise after the individual has been released from custody, the State would be unable to pursue commitment of the individual even though it complied with all the statutory requirements in Chapter 980. In other words, if a later change in circumstances could invalidate a petition that was otherwise valid at the time of filing, the State would be at risk of losing its ability to commit a sexually violent person through no fault of its own, and even though the State met all the statutory requirements to proceed to commitment. Such an outcome would be contrary to the primary purpose of Chapter 980, which is ‘to treat sexually violent persons and to protect society from the dangers posed by those persons.’ State v. West, 2011 WI 83, ¶27, 336 Wis. 2d 578, 800 N.W.2d 929; see also Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶46 (We must interpret statutes ‘reasonably, to avoid absurd or unreasonable results’).”

Reversed and Remanded.

2012AP2170 State v. Spaeth

Gableman, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Weinstein, Warren D., Madison; Gossett, Christian A., Oshkosh; For Respondent: Fite, Shelley, Madison

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