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U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Kansas Civil Commitment Case
Loaded on Aug. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
August, 1996, page 13
In 1990, the year PLN began publishing, the Washington State legislature passed the country's first civil commitment law. Dubbed the 'Sexual Predator Law," it empowered the state to institute civil proceedings against prisoners nearing the end of their terms of confinement. The civil proceeding is used to determine if the …
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More from this issue:
- Supreme Court Reverses Court Access Case, by Paul Wright
- ABA Wants Pro Se Litigation Info
- Discovery and Proof in Police Misconduct, by Allan Parmelee
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Notes from the Unrepenitentiary, by Laura Whitehorn
- Attorney Fees Awarded in Jail Suit for Attorney-Client Space
- Prison Visitor Allowed to Refuse Search
- A Matter of Fact
- Anti-Terrorism Act Terrorizes Habeas Petitioners, by David Zuckerman
- Publications Review, by Paul Wright
- 5th Circuit Bars Ad Seg Claims
- Beating Shackled Prisoners States Claim
- Canada's Prison Chief Resigns
- U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Kansas Civil Commitment Case
- BOP Ad Seg Rules Don't Create Liberty Interest
- Women Prisoners Win Court Access Claim
- New Washington Prison Needs Major Repairs
- Canadian Prisoners Regain Voting Rights, by Michael Klug
- Washington Money Seizure Suit Update, by Paul Wright
- Wisconsin Property Policy Violates RFRA
- VitaPro Update
- Brig Fire Sparks Political Debate, by Dan Pens
- $168,500 Awarded in Prisoner's Death
- Guards' Smoke Violates Eighth Amendment
- TVs for Justice, by Dan Pens
- New Jersey MCU Suit Settled
- Departing Visitor Cannot Be Searched -- Strip Search Okay
- News in Brief
- Settlement Reached in Alabama Chain Gang Suit
- Photocopies Required for Court Access
More from these topics:
- Louisiana Republicans Eliminate Elected Office Won by Exonerated Ex-Prisoner, July 1, 2026. Discrimination, Constitutional Challenges/Law, Public Trial, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Fair Trial.
- South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Penile Plethysmograph Results Are Inadmissible Until Underlying Science Becomes Standardized, Affirming Reversal of Sexually Violent Predator Commitment, June 1, 2026. Civil Commitment, Sexually Dangerous Persons/Sexual Violent Predators, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Prejudice - Potential for Undue, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Shadow Prisons: How Civil Commitment Leads to Longer Confinement, Jan. 1, 2026. Sex Offender Treatment, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Civil Commitment, Sexually Dangerous Persons/Sexual Violent Predators, Sex Offense Registration Act (SORNA).
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit by Civilly Committed Texan, Dec. 1, 2025. Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Conditions of Confinement, Complaints, Grievances, Civil Commitment.
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment, Oct. 15, 2025. Civil Commitment, Exclusionary Rule, Pat Down Searches, Scope of Permissible Searches, Suspicionless Searches.
- Why Aren’t Eligible Individuals Taking Advantage of Expungement Laws?, Dec. 15, 2024. Discrimination, Restrictions, discrimination, Expungement/Removal.
- Incompetent Louisiana Sex Offender’s Challenge to Registration Requirements Proceeds, Dec. 15, 2024. Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Sex Offense Registration Act (SORNA).
- Minnesota’s $100 Million-Per-Year Civil Commitment Program Has No “Discernible Impact” on Sex Crimes, Oct. 15, 2024. Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Databases, Civil Commitment.
- Louisiana Becomes First State in Nation to Allow Judges to Order Surgical Castration for Sex Offenders, Oct. 1, 2024. Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Surgery, Sex Offender Treatment, Chemical Castration.
- Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled, Aug. 1, 2024. Sex Offender Registration, Civil Commitment, Sex Offender Classification.

