Minnesota Federal Court Rules the Minnesota Sex Offender Program is Unconstitutional
Plaintiffs, on behalf of a certified class of over 700 civilly committed persons, are very pleased with today’s trial decision from Judge Donavan W. Frank finding that the Minnesota Civil Commitment and Treatment Act (“MCTA) is unconstitutional on its face and as applied by the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. (“MSOP”) The decision (attached) comes after a nearly six-week trial in which dozens of witnesses testified and hundreds of documents were admitted into evidence. The trial concluded in late March 2015 and the parties’ written closing arguments and proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law were fully submitted by April 15, 2015. “At trial, Plaintiffs presented overwhelming evidence of the unconstitutionality of the MCTA and the way in which MSOP applies it. Based on this evidence, we believe the Court came to the correct conclusion,” says lead attorney for the Plaintiffs, Dan Gustafson of Gustafson Gluek, PLLC.The Court’s decision found that the MCTA is unconstitutional on its face because it fails to provide sufficient protections to committed individuals including, for example, regular risk assessments, a judicial bypass procedure for a reduction in custody and less restrictive alternatives to the high security Moose Lake and St. Peter facilities. The Court also found the MCTA unconstitutional as applied by the MSOP for similar reasons including, for example, the failure to provide any less restrictive alternative facilities, the failure to undertake regular risk assessments and the failure to take action to assist committed persons in being placed in a less restrictive facility or provisionally discharged, even when MSOP knows that is appropriate. One of the key facts throughout the case and in the Court’s opinion is that not a single individual of the more than 700 committed to the MSOP has been fully discharged from the program in over 20 years. Judge Frank’s decision finds that Minnesota has “failed to maintain the program in such a way as to ensure that all Class Members are not unconstitutionally deprived of their right to liberty.” Although the MCTA and the MSOP operations have been challenged in Minnesota courts many times since the inception of the current statute in the early 1990s, this case represents the first time a court has ruled that the entire system of civilly committing sex offenders, as it is currently written and implemented in Minnesota, does not pass constitutional muster.“This order highlights the complete failure of the political system in Minnesota with respect to these important issues but more importantly, it reaffirms that all people, no matter how disliked they are or how reprehensible their prior conduct, are entitled to Constitutional protection” Gustafson said.“Now that the Court has ruled, the real work of fixing the problems with the MCTA and the MSOP will begin” he added. “Addressing the issues in the Judge’s Order and making changes to the MCTA and the MSOP to bring the statute and program into constitutional compliance will require the cooperation of the Governor, Minnesota’s Legislative leaders and the Minnesota Attorney General among others. This program needs to be rebuilt- from the statute to the treatment program to the range of facilities themselves” Gustafson said.The Court’s Order suggests a long list of changes that should be made to the program and sets a pre-hearing conference for the parties on remedies for August 10, 2015. Judge Frank also requested that key decision-makers within state government attend this conference.“Plaintiffs are confident that with the Court’s guidance and the collaborative efforts of the parties and various Minnesota political leaders, the MSOP can become a constitutionally sufficient program that provides those committed with real treatment and a legitimate opportunity to be rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society” says Gustafson.Click here to read the Court's Order.Additional information can also be found through the following media sources: