Home      Login


SVP Commitment May Apply to Legally “Incompetent” Individuals  


Author:  Amanda M.  Fanniff, Ph.D..; Randy K.  Otto, Ph.D., A.B.P.P..; John  Petrila, J.D., L.L.M..


Source: Volume 16, Number 05, August/September 2015 , pp.67-72(6)




Sex Offender Law Report

< previous article |next article > |return to table of contents

Abstract: 

Appellate courts have almost universally found that proceeding with SVP commitment hearings against incompetent respondents is not a violation of the individual’s due process rights. This article looks at the some of the reasoning behind these decisions, the necessity of adapted treatment approaches and better guidelines regarding the standard for evaluation, the level of competency required.

Keywords: People v. Allen, 187 P.3d 1018, 1032; In re Greenwood, 122 P.3d 747, 751; In re Moore, 2009 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 993; In re Branch, 890 So. 2d 322; In re Cubbage, 671 N.W.2d 442; Commonwealth v. Nieves; Luttrell, 754 N.W.2d at 252; Jackson v. Indi

Affiliations:  1: Palo Alto University; 2: University of South Florida; 3: University of South Florida.

Subscribers click here to open full text in PDF.
Non-subscribers click here to purchase this article. $20

< previous article |next article > |return to table of contents