by Kevin Gillick

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of confining some sex offenders after their criminal sentences have ended. A three-judge panel heard arguments January 12th in response to a challenge filed by federal inmates who say the law violates their rights.

Solicitor General Elena Kagan told the court that the federal government has a responsibility to detain individuals when  “…that person has the kind of mental illness that is going to cause grave danger to the community”.

The controversial program is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which was signed into law in 2006. Twenty states, including Florida, have their own civil commitment laws aimed at addressing the pathology of sex offenders rather than the criminality of their acts.

The case before the Supreme Court does not affect the rights of states to pass and enforce their own laws imposing indefinite confinement upon sexual felons. Florida’s version, The Jimmy Ryce Act, became law in 1998. It is named for a nine year-old Miami boy who was murdered three years earlier by a convicted predator: Juan Carlos Chavez.

Justices for the Supreme Court are expected to hand down their decision in Summer 2010.