Henderson v Bryant

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4-4-15 Illinois:

NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION

Henderson v Bryant

This case has unbelievable conditions of release tied to the fellow, and the court sees that as well as the fellow obviously doesn't know how to present his issues to the court, so the court sends this back to the lower court with instructions to appoint him a lawyer to properly address his issues to the court. Finally this is NOT a decision that can be cited according to the court. i.e. NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION.

Here goes w/highlights:

Willie Henderson, designated a sexually violent person under Illinois' Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, 725 ILCS 207/1-99, has been civilly committed to a treatment facility for much of the past 15 years.

In 2013 Henderson was briefly released from physical custody and placed on conditional release, during which he was required to abide by 55 separate "Conditions of Release." He was recommitted to the state's custody three months later.

In this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, he alleges that many of the conditions violated his constitutional rights, that his conditional-release agent and others abused him, and that he has been unlawfully recommitted.

The district court dismissed Henderson's case for lack of a valid claim. We vacate the dismissal in part because the court should have allowed one aspect of the case to move forward.

The sequence of events begins in July 2013, when Henderson was placed on conditional release. See 725 ILCS § 207/40(3)-(5). Among the 55 conditions of release, Henderson was ordered that he must:

• "[r]efrain from entering into a relationship of any type without written approval . . . any unauthorized relationships will be terminated immediately, including but not limited to relationships with family members;"
• "refrain from watching out any/all windows of residence for sexual gratification or any other reason;"
• "not purchase any items of any kind unless authorized;"
• "[r]efrain from entering anyone's motor vehicle and/or travelling with anyone in their vehicle without prior identification and approval;"
• "[n]ot establish a dating, intimate, or sexual relationship with a person" without prior approval;
• "[n]ot have photos or pictures of any child including your own in your home or in your control" without approval;
• "[n]either possess or have under your control any material that is pornographic, sexually oriented, or sexually stimulating, or that depicts or alludes to adult sexual activity or depicts minors under the age of 18, including but not limited to visual, auditory, telephonic, electronic media, or any matter obtained through access to the internet, access to any computer or material linked to computer access use;"
• and "[r]efrain from owning or having in your possession any animal of any type . . .
• refrain from babysitting or watching another person's pet or animal at any time."

After three months his conditional release was revoked and Henderson was recommitted (presumably pursuant to a state court order for violating a condition, see id. § 207/40(4)), precipitating this suit.

He sued Steve Bryant, the director of Liberty Healthcare (the corporation that operates the conditional-release program for sexually violent persons in Illinois), Nathan Rosato, his conditional-release agent, and Rhonda Meacham, his therapist.

Henderson contends generally that the terms of conditional release are overbroad, the defendants enforced those terms unreasonably, and he should not have been recommitted.

He elaborates that, while he was on release, the defendants prevented him from contacting his family and confiscated his family pictures; Rosato entered with his own key and searched Henderson's apartment unannounced while he was sleeping at night or showering; and both Rosato and Meacham verbally abused him in public.

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Jumping to Conclusion. Just unbelievable.
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The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED in part, VACATED in part, and REMANDED for proceedings consistent with this order. As it did before, the district court may consider recruiting experienced counsel to assist Henderson with these claims.

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