May 17, 2010

United States v. Comstock et al.

On May 17, 2010, The Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Comstock upheld a federal law permitting extended civil commitments for prisoners with mental illness who has engaged in sexually violent acts that would have difficulty refraining from future offenses if released after serving their sentence. This lawsuit, United States v. Comstock, was in response to a challenge to the law filed by five prisoners incarcerated beyond their sentences that had mental illnesses. This law states that the Department of Justice must certify a prisoner has a mental illness, a history of sexual violence or child molestation, and that re-offenses are likely in order to incarcerate them beyond their sentence. If a claim is made against a prisoner that meets these certifications, a hearing is held. If upheld, the prisoner may be released to the state. If this happens, an individual will be placed in a federal facility until their mental illness improves.