Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 902.3 (2026)

Indeterminate sentence

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IA-LEGlegis.iowa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

When a judgment of conviction of a felony other than a class “A” felony is entered against a person, the court, in imposing a sentence of confinement, shall commit the person into the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections for an indeterminate term, the maximum length of which shall not exceed the limits as fixed by section 902.9, unless otherwise prescribed by statute, nor shall the term be less than the minimum term imposed by law, if a minimum sentence is provided. However, if the court suspends a person’s sentence under section 321J.2, subsection 5, paragraph “a”, the court shall order the offender to serve time in the county jail as provided in section 321J.2, subsection 5, paragraph “a”, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in section 903.4. [S13, §5718-a13; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §13960; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §789.13; C79, 81, §902.3; 82 Acts, ch 1239, §3] 83 Acts, ch 96, §128, 159; 86 Acts, ch 1220, §43; 99 Acts, ch 12, §15; 2002 Acts, ch 1042, §2; 2010 Acts, ch 1124, §4, 9 Referred to in §904.108

\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 45 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1980–2026 · leading case: State of Iowa v. Yvette Marie Louisell, 865 N.W.2d 590 (Iowa 2015).
State of Iowa v. Yvette Marie Louisell, 865 N.W.2d 590 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 8× “Iowa Code § 902.3 . Finally, section 902.”
State v. Morris, 416 N.W.2d 688 (Iowa 1987). · cites it 10× “See Iowa Code §§ 902.3 , 902.9(4). However, the legislature amended section 902.”
State v. Dohrn, 300 N.W.2d 162 (Iowa 1981). · cites it 10× “§ 902.3 (emphasis added). Defendant contends section 902.”
State v. Plaster, 424 N.W.2d 226 (Iowa 1988). · cites it 2× “at §§ 902.3, 902.9(3). Plaster appealed, arguing that testimony concerning the incident with Melissa was improperly admitted and that his conviction was supported by insufficient evidence.”
State v. Peterson, 327 N.W.2d 735 (Iowa 1982). · cites it 4× “The indeterminate sentencing provision of section 902.3 precludes granting a lesser term of confinement than that specified in section 902.”
State v. Johnson, 476 N.W.2d 330 (Iowa 1991). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code §§ 902.3 and 902.9(1). The two robbery sentences were to run concurrently, and three sentences were to run consecutively.”
State v. Johnson, 630 N.W.2d 583 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 2× “§§ 902.3 (stating that conviction of a class "B" felony requires imprisonment "for an indeterminate term, the maximum length of which shall not exceed the limits fixed by section 707.”
State v. Hubka, 480 N.W.2d 867 (Iowa 1992). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code §§ 902.3 , 902.9(4). Hubka was also ordered to make restitution.”
In Re the Det. of Shaffer, 769 N.W.2d 169 (Iowa 2009). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code § 902.3 (providing that a court sentencing a felon other than a class “A” felon to confinement “shall commit the person into the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections for an indeterminate term”).”
State v. White, 337 N.W.2d 517 (Iowa 1983). · cites it 2× “Iowa Code section 902.3 mandates that the court commit all convicted criminal defendants, except class “A” felons, for an indeterminate term.”
State v. Iowa Dist. Court for Monroe Cnty., 630 N.W.2d 778 (Iowa 2001). · cites it 2× “In addition, section 902.3 provides that the sentence for a class “B” felony must be indeterminate.”
State v. Uthe, 542 N.W.2d 810 (Iowa 1996). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code §§ 902.3 , 902.8, 902.9(2). Uthe’s principal claim on appeal concerns the authentication of the exemplar used to compare his signature with the alleged forgeries.”
— Iowa Code § 902.3(b) — 1 case
Walsted v. Woodbury Cnty., IA, 113 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (N.D. Iowa 2000).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.