The legal standard of volitional impairment: An analysis of substantive due process and the United States Supreme Court's decision in Kansas v. Hendricks
✍ Scribed by Patricia E Erickson
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2002
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 109 KB
- Volume
- 30
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0047-2352
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This article considers the substantive due process issues concerning the involuntary commitment of sexually violent offenders following criminal incarceration. In Kansas v. Hendricks, the United States Supreme Court upheld a Kansas statute permitting the civil commitment of ''sexually violent predators'' against constitutional challenges. This article examines the legal standard of ''volitional impairment'' used by the Court as the basis for it finding that the statute does not offend substantive due process. The Court's decision is critically evaluated in terms of its implications for the systems of criminal law and civil confinement.