NCJ Number
181916
Journal
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law Volume: 4 Issue: 1/2 Dated: March/June 1998 Pages: 323-376
Date Published
March 1998
Length
54 pages
Annotation
This article proposes a revised institution of civil commitment for individuals who manifest psychological impairment.
Abstract
Laws on sexual predators provide for civil commitment of selected individuals following the completion of criminal sentences for certain sex offenses of which they have been committed. Appellate courts have variously upheld and overturned sexual predator statutes. Academic discussion regarding the defensible parameters of criminal commitment and civil commitment as institutions of social control remains divided. A satisfactory account of commitment under sexual predator statutes would provide a consistent explanation of the relationships among commitment commitment under the sexual predator laws, criminal incarceration, and the general institution of civil commitment. The proposed revised institution of civil commitment addresses both theoretical and practical concerns about civil commitment. Theoretically, it advances an interpretation of the manner in which psychological impairment can justify coercive government intervention under parens patriae or police powers. It also proposes a practical structure intended to reduce the tendency toward the overly broad application of civil commitment and to improve the degree to which commitment provides an effective treatment delivery mechanism for those who are appropriately committed. Thus, this interpretation of civil commitment corrects the fundamental error of the sexual predator statutes and provides for institutions of civil commitment consistent with the broader set of legal institutions within which they are embedded. Footnotes