Did Justice Thomas and the lower courts get it right? I think they did. United States v. Comstock (08-1224) Decided: May 17th, 2010 Breyer for the 5-4 Court; Concurrences by Kennedy and Alito, Dissent by Thomas, joined by Scalia. Full Text: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1224.pdf
NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE (Congress has authority to allow civil commitment of mentally ill, sexually dangerous federal prisoners beyond the term of their sentence). The Government initiated civil commitment proceedings against five federal prisoners just before their scheduled release date. The Government claimed that each prisoner had engaged in sexually violent conduct in the past, and suffered from a mental illness that made him sexually dangerous to others. The prisoners moved to dismiss the proceeding on constitutional grounds. The District Court found for respondents, the Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Supreme Court now reverses and remands. The Court stated five reasons for their holding: the Necessary and Proper Clause grants Congress broad authority to enact legislation; Congress has long been involved in the mental healthcare of federal prisoners and this statute merely adds to a set of statutes that have existed for decades; Congress has a custodial interest in protecting the public from the dangers posed by such prisoners and this statute is reasonably adapted to that interest; the statute aptly accommodates state interests; and the scope is appropriately narrow because it applies only to a small number of federal prisoners. [Summarized by: Amy Cook] -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Constitution Society http://constitution.org 2900 W Anderson Ln C-200-322 Austin, TX 78757 512/299-5001 jon.rol...@constitution.org ----------------------------------------------------------
