OK, if you don't know what civil commitment is then read the short summary below the two bars, then come back here.
What is this blog all about? Civil Commitment (CC) is all about court hearings:
- to put someone in (Commitment them)
- to release someone (Release them)
- to punish someone for violating rules of CC (Violation [Punish them])
finally, the court cases started by civilly committed folks which address the abuses by the powers that be and their employees (Lawsuits about Conditions of Confinement)
Rarely can CC folks obtain a lawyer to represent them b/c CC folks have no way to earn a wage that can afford the costs of lawyers to fight the injustices of being civilly committed (conditions of confinement in these prison-like facilities; some are old prisons rendered unfit to hold prisoners, so they use them for CC folks. A reality and further punishment [my opinion]!).
So the purpose of this blog is to separate the court cases and present them in a way that folks can readily see who is winning and who is losing, and most importantly what the issues are that CC folks are fighting. OH yes, on rare occasions a lawyer will take up the cause, but that is only in class action type cases. Beyond those cases civilly committed folks -in pro per- (which means on their own) try to sue the powers that be.
On the right side of this blog cases are so separated.
First, Civil Commitment: What is it?
CC Mental Health Law: For a long time society has permitted involuntary civilly committing folks who are deemed a danger to themselves or others in society, and that was based on mental health laws. The key is the "dangerousness" element.
CC Following a prison sex sentence: More recently a new kind of law has come about, civil commitment of sex offenders following completion of their prison sentences. These laws are based on the premise that, such former offenders are highly likely to commit further sex offenses if left in society without treatment. Hence civil commitment following their prison sentences. This is a whole new world of thinking by lawmakers.
Civil commitment, enacted by several states, was tested in the U.S. Supreme court in the case of Kansas v Hendricks and the court ruled it constitutional. Basing it on lawmaker created definitions of "Mental Abnormality" or "Personality Disorder," and highly likely to commit further sex offenses. Later cases further clarified civil commitment parameters and procedures and required that commitment be for treatment.
In 2006 the U.S. Congress enacted The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (HR-4472 PDF), Title III: Civil Commitment of Dangerous Sex Offenders:
(Sec. 301) Directs the Attorney General to make grants to jurisdictions for effective civil commitment programs for sexually dangerous persons. Prohibits use of grant money for transitional housing for sexually dangerous persons in locations where minors or other vulnerable individuals are likely to come into contact with such persons. Requires the Attorney General to report to the Judiciary Committees of Congress by January 31 of each year, beginning in 2008, on the progress of jurisdictions in implementing civil commitment programs for sexually dangerous persons and on the rate of sexually violent offenses for each jurisdiction.
(Sec. 302) Sets forth procedures for the civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons.
Then in 2010 came the case of US v Comstock which permitted the federal civil commitment of folks incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of prisons. Hence today there are state and federal civil commitment laws.
That is the focus of this blog: Civil Commitment following a prison sex crime sentence. (Note: Florida, in 2014, enacted laws to civilly commit folks following a jail sentence as well.)
This blog covers every state civil commitment center, and the federal civil commitment center at Butner North Carolina. And -to the best of our knowledge today (March 2014)- is the ONLY place on the Internet that covers news and other topics for civil commitment information. See HERE for links to each individual states' civil commitment center and program.
Source: Washington State Institute for Public Policy (1998)
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