"Court likely to back law to commit sex offenders; Justices would give Congress power to step in" by Greg Stohr, Bloomberg News | January 13, 2010
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court justices signaled yesterday that they are likely to uphold a national law that permits the civil commitment of “sexually dangerous’’ people after they complete their federal prison terms....
Unconstitutional, but it's the Supreme Court, so....
The case tests the power of the federal government to play a role in preventing sex crimes, traditionally a state function. Although the high court has reined in the federal government in other contexts over the past 15 years, yesterday’s hourlong hearing revealed more concern about ensuring public safety than in protecting states’ rights.
Yes, when it comes to the Feds and states, this court consistently lines up with feds.
“You are talking about endangering the health and safety of people,’’ Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said. “The government has some responsibility, doesn’t it?’’
Yeah, they are responsible for a lot of that, Ruth.
Related: Abortion and the echo of eugenics
You sure this court is looking to protect you, America?
Justice Antonin Scalia alone voiced criticism of the statute, repeatedly saying the federal government was intruding on state powers. He said federal prison officials could accomplish the same goal by notifying state authorities when a dangerous person is about to be released and asking them to begin commitment proceedings.
And thus I stand with Scalia on this issue.
“I find it difficult to believe that an elected governor or an elected attorney general would ignore that letter,’’ Scalia said. He characterized the Obama administration’s arguments in favor of the law as “a recipe for the federal government taking over everything.’’
Yeah, that is what is happening.
The law, part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, directs the attorney general to “make all reasonable efforts’’ to get states to assume responsibility for the custody and treatment of committed people. The civil commitment law is being challenged by five men held under the measure. Four of them have completed prison sentences for sex crimes, while the fifth was held incompetent to stand trial on charges of sexually abusing a child. They are in a treatment facility in Butner, N.C....
Solicitor General Elena Kagan, the Obama administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer, said commitment power stemmed from “the power to run a responsible criminal justice system.’’
And she is up for a nomination, huh?
Justice Stephen Breyer said that government-run hospitals on occasion need to restrain people for their own protection or that of someone else. “Once you are down the road where you admit the government can do that, how is a prison any different?’’
It's not.
--more--"
Also see: Court rules 30-year ban on computer use is too much
Government-Hosted Porn
Porn On the Web
No wonder it is a problem that never goes away.
And they want to keep you locked up for it?
