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Misconduct at Washington State Civil Commitment Center as Concern Grows Over Releases
Misconduct at Washington State Civil Commitment Center as Concern Grows Over Releases
by David M. Reutter
Washington state’s Special Commitment Center (SCC), which was created to house and treat prisoners classified as violent sexual predators, has become the focus of investigations into staff misconduct. Additionally, the growing …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Ninth Circuit: Abstention Inapplicable in First Amendment Cases, by Mark Wilson
- Tennessee Jail Breached Duty to Provide Medical Care; Damages Trial Ordered, by David Reutter
- Change in Florida Jail Policy Leads to Increased Homelessness, by David Reutter
- Prison Legal News Interviews Musician Wayne Kramer, by Paul Wright
- Eighth Circuit: Atheist Prisoner States Coerced Religious-Based Treatment Claim, by Mark Wilson
- Georgia’s High Court Finds No Categorical Right to Counsel in Civil Contempt Proceedings, by David Reutter
- GEO Group Rescinds $6 Million Donation to Name Stadium at Florida University, by David Reutter
- Private Prison Companies Reject Resolutions to Fund Rehabilitative, Reentry Programs
- Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner’s Suit Claiming Lack of Medical Care, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Violence in Brazil Connected to Abuse, Gangs, Overcrowding
- Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner’s ADA/RA Claims, by Mark Wilson
- Misconduct at Washington State Civil Commitment Center as Concern Grows Over Releases, by David Reutter
- Georgia’s Execution Drug Secrecy Law Found Constitutional, by David Reutter
- Native American Prisoners Have Right to Tobacco in Religious Ceremonies, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit: Indefinite Stay and Denial of Guardian was Abuse of Discretion, by Mark Wilson
- For Shame! Public Shaming Sentences on the Rise, by David Reutter
- Book Review: Burning Down the House, by Nell Bernstein (The New Press, June 2014). 384 pages, $26.95, by Hannah K. Gold
- Second Circuit: Brady Claim Not Barred by Heck, by Mark Wilson
- Eighth Circuit: Ruling Required on Prison Officials’ Qualified Immunity Defense
- Eighth Circuit: Jail Guards Denied Summary Judgment for Use of Force against Detainees, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit: Dismissal due to Nonpayment of Filing Fee Requires Assessment, by Mark Wilson
- United States, Britain Offer Training to “Improve” Prison Conditions in Afghanistan
- California: Local Ordinances Banning Sex Offenders from Parks Invalidated, by Mark Wilson
- Montana: Extradition Costs Not Recoverable as Restitution, by Mark Wilson
- Life Sentences Spike in Recent Years – Especially in Utah
- Court Finds PLN’s Rights Violated by Arizona Jail; Case Settles for $15,293
- Eighth Circuit: Deliberate Indifference Standard GovernsMedical Care for Civilly Committed Detainees, by Mark Wilson
- Eighth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Jail Prisoner Raped in Unlocked Cell; $60,000 Verdict at Trial, by Mark Wilson
- Wisconsin Prison Guard Union Faces Challenges, by Derek Gilna
- Five Deaths in Eleven Months at California Jail Spark Grand Jury Probe
- Washington DOSA Revocation Requires Credit for Community Custody Time, by Mark Wilson
- Texas: $100 Medical Copay for Prisoners Generates Less Revenue than Expected, by Matthew Clarke
- Dialing with Dollars: How County Jails Profit From Immigrant Detainees, by Leticia Miranda
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
More from David Reutter:
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026
- Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, Aug. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing Mental-Condition Examination Under § 16-8-107(3)(b), April 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, April 1, 2026
- Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies That Failure to Object to Ineligible Juror Does Not Constitute Waiver Unless Party Knew or Could Have Discovered Ineligibility Through Ordinary Diligence, April 1, 2026
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- 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.
- 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.
- Idaho Continues To Cell “Dangerously Mentally Ill” Without Charges, June 1, 2024. Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Civil Commitment.
- Seventh Circuit: Heck Bars Civil Rights Challenges to Civil Commitment, June 1, 2024. Civil Commitment, Civil Commitment - Relief from, Heck Rule.

