U.S. v. Perez (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-01-0471, 30 pp.) (Traxler, J.) No. 13-6043, May 15, 2014; USDC at Raleigh, N.C. (Britt, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A failure to serve appellant a summons under Rule 4 did not deprive a district ...

Tagged with: Civil Commitment

U.S. v. Blackledge (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-01-0427, 63 pp.) (Gregory, J.) No. 12-7419, May 5, 2014; USDC at Raleigh, N.C. (Dever, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: In a proceeding to consider civil commitment of respondent as a sexually dangerous person, the ...

Tagged with: Civil Commitment

U.S. v. Bolander A 47-year-old man with a prior conviction for child molestation and a strong sexual fixation on prepubescent males, who has resisted treatment and continued to amass collections of child pornography while on parole or supervised released, has been shown to be a “sexually dangerous person” subject to civil commitment; the 4th Circuit affirms the government certification for civil commitment.

Tagged with: Civil Commitment

U.S. v. Wooden The record does not support a district court’s rejection of civil commitment for a sex offender, and the 4th Circuit orders reconsideration; the offender has a long history of acting on his pedophilic urges, has been convicted or adjudicated delinquent five times, has admitted he offended many more times than he was caught and has been resistant to treatment.

Tagged with: Civil Commitment Criminal Practice Sex Offender

United States v. Heyer The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act mandates that the Attorney General assume responsibility for the “custody, care and treatment” of sexually dangerous persons.

Tagged with: Civil Commitment Prisons & Jails

U.S. v. Francis A man with an extensive history of making obscene phone calls threatening women with sexual violence, but who has not made such a call since 2003, will not be civilly committed as a sexually dangerous individual under 18 U.S.C. § 4248; the 4th Circuit rejects the government’s claim that the district court made an “abstract determination” that the man was unlikely to commit new offenses of a sexually violent nature.

Tagged with: Civil Commitment Criminal Practice

U.S. v. Timms In one of the first cases arising out of the civil commitment system established by § 4248 as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the 4th Circuit upholds the statute against due process and equal protection claims, reverses the district court order to release appellant Gerald Wayne Timms, and remands for the district court to determine whether he is a “sexually dangerous person.”

Tagged with: Civil Commitment Constitutional Criminal Practice

U.S. v. Broncheau In this action by the government seeking civil commitment of nine federal prisoners as "sexually dangerous persons" under 18 U.S.C. § 4248, the 4th Circuit says the district court erred in dismissing the proceeding on the ground that, for these prisoners whose sentences included terms of supervised release, the government should have proceeded under § 4241 rather than § 4248.

Tagged with: Civil Commitment Criminal Practice

U.S. v. Edwards. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-02-0391, 22 pp.) (Terrence W. Boyle, J.) E.D.N.C. Holding: Even though the government has a strong interest in protecting its citizens from sexually dangerous individuals, if they are to be civilly committed, those individuals ...

Tagged with: Brady Civil Commitment Constitutional Due Process first impression

In re Watson. If the respondent in a civil commitment hearing wishes to represent himself, the trial court must conduct a thorough inquiry into the respondent's competency to represent himself...

Tagged with: Civil Commitment Constitutional Durham County first impression right to counsel waiver