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| Wisconsin Law on Sexual Predators is Upheld |
| By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Published: 07/15/2002 |
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Wisconsin's sexual predator law allowing sex offenders to be civilly committed after their scheduled release from prison was upheld July 1 by the state Supreme Court, which concluded in two cases that the law was constitutional. In split decisions, the court ruled that legislative changes to the law in 1999 and the absence of a specific mental disorder requirement do not make the law unconstitutional. The high court rulings are the most significant assessment of constitutionality issues concerning Wisconsin's sexual predator law since justices first found it constitutional in 1995, a year after it was enacted. The court concluded 5-2 that changes to the law limiting an offender's ability to seek supervised release did not make the law punitive. In the other case, the court ruled 4-2 that the law is constitutional even though it does not require a judge or jury to find that an offender has a specific mental disorder that limits his ability to control his behavior. Doyle said the rulings were 'by far' the most significant that the Supreme Court has made on the sexual predator law since it concluded in 1995 that the law did not amount to punishing people twice for the same crime. Christopher Ahmuty, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, said a concurring opinion in one of the cases written by Justice Ann Walsh Bradley indicates concern on the court about whether treatment of predators is adequately addressed under the law. 'The state must take steps to ensure that proper placement and treatment actually happen,' Bradley wrote in the case involving the changes to the law. 'It sounds as if we haven't heard the last of this, at least as the law is being applied,' Ahmuty said. 'The state should be very careful that they are not doing this just for the sake of punishment but to try to protect citizens by treating these people.' |
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