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Class Action Infighting Leads to Lost Opportunity for SVPs to Shape Their Own Risk Review Protocols  


Author:  Roslyn K. Myers, Ph.D., J.D..


Source: Volume 21, Number 04, June/July 2020 , pp.59-62(4)




Sex Offender Law Report

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Abstract: 

Because treatment determines the risk level of a sex offender, as well as his or her potential for release, a convicted offender’s access to treatment is crucial for sex offenders working their way through civil commitment protocols. Missouri is one of 20 states that has operated a treatment program for SVPs. However, Missouri’s program has been subject to numerous lawsuits complaining of the low “graduation rate,” which results in detainees languishing at facilities long after they have been or should have been authorized for release to less restrictive living sites. This article examines the practices and outcomes in poor-performing states like Missouri, Minnesota, and Kansas, as described in class action suits against the states brought by program participants denied release (such as Van Orden, 129 F.Supp. at 844), and contrasts them with highly ranked programs such as those in Washington State, Iowa, and Wisconsin. While plaintiffs (individuals ruled Sexually Violent Predators or SVPS under their respective state laws) have scored partial victories in securing the right to treatment in federal district courts, in-fighting among different members of the class and their attorneys led to a failure to gain important system improvements in the remedy phase of the litigation.

Keywords: Van Orden v. Schafer; SVP Programs; Safe Offender Strategies; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Affiliations:  1: John Jay College.

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