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VA - Sex-Offender Commitment Law Ruled Unconstitutional

View the article here View the ruling here, or download it here. 03/06/2009 By Rich Daly A federal appellate court rules that the section of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act regarding prolonged federal civil commitment of sexual offenders is unconstitutional. A federal appeals court has struck down a 2006 federal law that allows indefinite civil commitment of "sexually dangerous" inmates beyond the length of their prison terms. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled in January in the case U.S. v. Comstock that Congress intruded on powers reserved for the states through civil-commitment provisions it included in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (PL 109-248). The ruling, which affirmed a lower court ruling in the case, was the first time a federal appeals court addressed the legality of the federal commitment law...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sex Offender Issues on March 06, 2009 (boomark / email).