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4th Circuit Got it Right in Comstock

By Corey Rayburnyung

(In the interest of full disclosure, I did help out in a very minor way in the Comstock appeal, so I'm not a wholly disinterested spectator in this case)The Fourth Circuit issued a unanimous and very noteworthy AWA opinion today in a case that I have blogged about a few times before. In U.S. v. Comstock, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court judgment that 18 U.S.C. 4248 of the Adam Walsh Act was unconstitutional because the federal government lacks the authority to enact the provision. Section 4248 concerns the civil commitment of sex offenders after incarceration. This is from the opinion:After carefully considering the Government?s arguments, we conclude, for the reasons set forth below, that § 4248 does indeed lie beyond the scope of Congress?s authority...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sex Crimes on January 08, 2009 (boomark / email).