Texas Attorney General Fights To Protect Constitutionality Of Civil Commitment For Sexual Predators

AUSTIN, November 30, 2004 - Texas Attorney General Abbott today defended a state law that keeps violent sexual predators under strict supervision and treatment after release from prison. The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments today on a challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s “civil commitment” law.

“We're defending a law that establishes an efficient, multi-tiered system for identifying predators who are most prone to repeat violent sex crimes,” Attorney General Abbott said. “To do otherwise poses too great a risk to the public. The state must apply this long-term program to make sure these individuals remain under watch and in treatment, hopefully to cure them of behaviors that would cause them to re-offend. This approach is corrective and preventative, not punitive.”

The case being argued today is on appeal from the 13th Circuit Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi, which found the state’s civil commitment statute punitive and unconstitutional as applied to offender Michael Fisher, whose history of rape and assault led to the unanimous jury verdict that he was a dangerous sexual predator. The appeals court ruled that the statute may not be applied to a mentally incompetent individual such as Fisher. Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who argued the state’s case, echoed Abbott’s commitment to use the program to track sexual predators: “Texas has a solemn obligation to protect our citizens and to ensure that repeat sexual predators cannot prey on our most vulnerable. The U.S. Supreme Court and every other court in the nation that has addressed this issue has upheld the constitutionality of these laws. We are confident that the Texas Supreme Court will return Texas to the national consensus that states can act preventively to ensure that predators receive treatment and careful supervision.”

In October 2000, a district court initially heard sufficient evidence to conclude that Fisher, a schizophrenic, suffered from a behavioral abnormality that would predispose him to prey upon victims and commit violent sexual assaults. At that point, the lower court ordered him committed for outpatient treatment and supervision, which includes restrictions on residence and social contacts, among other safeguards. Fisher appealed to the 13th Circuit Court on the grounds that the statute was criminal in nature and should not apply to individuals who lack mental competency.

Give us your Feedback about this story!