Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sex Crimes

Criminal Law

: Sex Crimes

Op-Ed: "When the Feds Decide Who's Sexually Dangerous"

By Corey Rayburnyung

Continuing our coverage of Comstock, I just finished reading this effective editorial at The Atlantic raising some concerns over the potential reach of the decision. The opinion piece also compares the voting blocs of Comstock (which dealt with federal civil commitment) and an earlier Supreme Court decision, Kansas v. Hendricks (which dealt with state civil commitment). In Comstock, Justice Breyer wrote the majority opinion and Justice Thomas wrote the dissent, whereas in Hendricks, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion (upholding the Kansas law) and Justice Breyer wrote the dissent. From the editorial:The wide applicability of this statute and lack of procedural safeguards distinguish it from state civil commitment laws previously upheld by the Supreme Court (this argument is presented in convincing detail in the NACDL amicus brief)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sex Crimes on May 23, 2010 (boomark / email).