What are states doing to confine dangerous sex offenders?

Finding ways to confine dangerous sexual predators for treatment after they complete their prison sentences is top on many legislative agendas.

In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for civil commitment of violent sexual predators in Kansas vs. Hendricks. The Court upheld Kansas' Sexually Violent Predator Act, rejecting the argument that the act violates an individual's due process rights. The court has previously upheld involuntary commitment statutes when a person's inability to control his behavior poses a threat to the public's health and safety.

Civil commitment laws allow state officials to initiate an involuntary commitment process against convicted sex offenders after they have served their sentences. Typically a judge or jury must find the offender "sexually violent" or "sexually dangerous" within the state's definition of the term.

Washington passed the first sex offender civil commitment law in 1990. Since then, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, New Jersey, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin have passed similar measures. Other states are considering them this session.

Sarah Sappington, an assistant attorney general in Washington, points out that civil commitment legislation must be carefully crafted to meet court scrutiny. Important factors legislation should include, according to Sappington, are:

* Distinguish this as a commitment...