36-H-2. Statutes
(a) States generally
Following Hendricks and Crane, many states have adopted laws like the Kansas statute. The statutes have three main requirements that they share. To be committed, you must:
(1) have engaged in some criminal sexual conduct;
(2) have a specified mental condition; and
(3) because of your mental disease or defect, be likely to engage in criminal sexual conduct in the future.170
Although state statutes follow this general pattern, they differ in a number of ways. In finding "criminal sexual conduct" for the purposes of the first requirement, some states require a sex offense conviction, while others require only that a person be charged with a sex offense, and a few simply require that the person have "committed" an illegal sexual act.171 States also vary on whether the case must be heard in front of a judge or jury and how much proof the state must provide of your condition and the danger you pose.172 The statutes either require proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" or by "clear and convincing evidence." "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a high standard of proof and is used at criminal trials. "Clear and convincing evidence" is a slightly easier standard for the state to meet. If you are facing civil commitment, you must research your state's laws and determine what sort of assistance you are entitled to.
(b) New York
Until April 2007, New York State did not have a civil commitment statute for sex offenders. Even without specific civil commitment legislation aimed at sex offenders, in some cases state officials had succeeded in civilly committing sex offenders under the regular civil commitment scheme. Some individuals who were civilly committed under the general scheme are entitled to have the issue adjudicated under the procedure set forth in New York's Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act.173 The civil commitment scheme is mainly used for the mentally ill.174
In 2007, the New York Legislature passed The Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act, which can be found at N.Y. Mental Hyg. § 10. The Act lays out a procedure for the civil commitment of dangerous sex offenders, discussed below. The Court of Appeals of New York upheld the Act as applied to people charged with sex offenses, convicted of sex offenses, or people who were patients of a state mental hospital since September 1, 2005.175
New York State's civil commitment statute is...
