Assignment # 4: After reading the following article, answer the questions at the end of the article. State Civil Commitment for Sex Offenders Sex offender registration is one of the post-sentence penalties that states impose on people convicted of certain sexual offenses. Twenty states (and the federal government) also have “sexual predator” laws. People convicted of a sub-set of sexual offenses may be labeled “sexually dangerous persons” or “sexual predators,” and may face another, perhaps greater additional penalty -- civil commitment. What is “Civil Commitment?” Civil commitment is a court order requiring that an individual be involuntarily confined to a mental institution. Individuals suffering from severe mental illness may be civilly committed for their own and others’ protection. Under state sexual predator laws, a person convicted as a sexual predator may be involuntarily committed to a mental institution in addition to any prison sentence. Civil commitments are typically not for a specified period, and offenders who are committed are not released until a mental health examiner deems them to no longer present a danger to others. What is a “Sexual Predator?” Under state laws, crimes such as indecent exposure to a child, possession of child pornography, and statutory rape (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. are considered sexually violent crimes. A person convicted of such crimes may be designated a sexual predator subject to civil commitment. These laws are often quite broad. For example, a high school student was convicted of indecent exposure after he exposed himself to female classmates. Courts have convicted teenagers of statutory rape, even where both parties were teenagers and both consented. And, if a minor texts a nude picture of himself to an adult, the adult is in possession of child pornography regardless of whether the adult was aware of the sender’s age. First Amendment and other challenges have been raised to civil commitment and other enhanced penalties for possession of child pornography. Those challenges and the Supreme Court response are covered in Computer Generated Images and Child Enticement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. How is “Danger to Others” Determined? In situations not involving a sex crime (for example, where a person begins acting erratically and is clearly delusional), a state can commit a person to a mental institution only upon a showing in court that the person is mentally ill. To commit a person convicted of a predatory sexual offense, however, the state need not make such a showing. A sex offender may be civilly committed based on a much lesser showing by the state. The states that have sexual predator laws providing for civil commitment generally require a special hearing at which the state presents evidence of the offender’s “volitional impairment,” which means inability to control him/herself from engaging in similar illegal behavior in the future. How.

1. Assignment # 4:
After reading the following article, answer the questions at the
end of the article.
State Civil Commitment for Sex Offenders
Sex offender registration is one of the post-sentence penalties
that states impose on people convicted of certain sexual
offenses. Twenty states (and the federal government) also have
“sexual predator” laws. People convicted of a sub-set of sexual
offenses may be labeled “sexually dangerous persons” or
“sexual predators,” and may face another, perhaps greater
additional penalty -- civil commitment.
What is “Civil Commitment?”
Civil commitment is a court order requiring that an individual
be involuntarily confined to a mental institution. Individuals
suffering from severe mental illness may be civilly committed
for their own and others’ protection.
Under state sexual predator laws, a person convicted as a sexual
predator may be involuntarily committed to a mental institution
in addition to any prison sentence. Civil commitments are
typically not for a specified period, and offenders who are
committed are not released until a mental health examiner
deems them to no longer present a danger to others.
What is a “Sexual Predator?”
Under state laws, crimes such as indecent exposure to a child,
possession of child pornography, and statutory rape (Links to an
external site.)Links to an external site. are considered sexually
violent crimes. A person convicted of such crimes may be
designated a sexual predator subject to civil commitment.
These laws are often quite broad. For example, a high school
student was convicted of indecent exposure after he exposed
himself to female classmates. Courts have convicted teenagers
of statutory rape, even where both parties were teenagers and
both consented. And, if a minor texts a nude picture of himself
to an adult, the adult is in possession of child pornography

2. regardless of whether the adult was aware of the sender’s age.
First Amendment and other challenges have been raised to civil
commitment and other enhanced penalties for possession of
child pornography. Those challenges and the Supreme Court
response are covered in Computer Generated Images and Child
Enticement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
How is “Danger to Others” Determined?
In situations not involving a sex crime (for example, where a
person begins acting erratically and is clearly delusional), a
state can commit a person to a mental institution only upon a
showing in court that the person is mentally ill. To commit a
person convicted of a predatory sexual offense, however, the
state need not make such a showing. A sex offender may be
civilly committed based on a much lesser showing by the state.
The states that have sexual predator laws providing for civil
commitment generally require a special hearing at which the
state presents evidence of the offender’s “volitional
impairment,” which means inability to control him/herself from
engaging in similar illegal behavior in the future. However, the
state does not have to prove that the offender suffers from
mental illness, as that is defined by mental health professionals,
research, and the professionally-accepted diagnostic manuals.
Many sexual predator laws permit the state to civilly commit an
offender who has a “personality disorder” or “mental
abnormality” that affects his/her emotional or volitional
capacity (in other words, self-control), in addition to allowing
commitment of those deemed mentally ill. For example, the
Washington State sexual predator law defines “personality
disorder” as “an enduring pattern of inner experience and
behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the
individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has onset in
adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time and leads to
distress or impairment.” (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 71.09.020.)
The civil commitment hearing is held before a judge rather than
a jury, such as the one that heard the evidence and rendered the
verdict on the sex offense charge.

3. Among the evidence the state may present at such a hearing is a
mental or even a personality evaluation of the offender. The
basis of commitment is the “likelihood” that the offender will
engage in a similar offense in the future. This evaluation may
be made even while the offender is in prison on the underlying
sexual offense (and, hence, not in a situation in which his/her
conduct in the community may be assessed).
Isn’t Civil Commitment “Double Jeopardy?”
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that no one
may be subject to punishment twice for the same offense (the
“Double Jeopardy” clause). A punishment that is added onto the
original punishment for a crime, such as civil commitment on
top of the prison sentence for a sex offense, seems to violate the
Double Jeopardy clause. But, the U.S. Supreme Court has held
that civil commitment under sexual predator laws is not double
jeopardy, although the Court admitted that psychiatry is “not
‘an exact science.’” The Court gives “considerable leeway to
states in defining the mental abnormalities and personality
disorders that make an individual eligible for commitment.”
So, a double jeopardy objection to civil commitment by a
person convicted under a state sexual predator law will fall on
deaf ears in the appellate courts.
A Sexual Offense May Result in Federal Prosecution
Some offenses are considered sexually violent offenses that may
be prosecuted under federal law. If the offender is determined to
be a sexual predator, the federal law provides for civil
commitment at the request of the U.S. attorney or the Bureau of
Prisons. This additional penalty is particularly onerous, as
explained in Federal Registration and Civil Commitment Laws
for Sex Offenders (Links to an external site.)Links to an
external site..
Questions:
1. Define the 5th Amendment to the constitution.
2. In your opinion, are civil commitments a violation of the 5th
Amendment? Why or Why Not?

4. 3. Should Civil Commitments be assessed to Juveniles as well
as Adults? Why or Why Not?
4. Research the definition of Hate Crimes. Should Sex
Offenders be charged with the sentencing enhancement assessed
if a crime is considered a hate crime? State your reasoning.
5. Utilizing critical thinking, and with additional research, is
the sex offender registry a fair and constitutional sentencing
alternative?