Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Constitutional Challenges to Sexually Violent Predator Commitment Law

Shivaee v. Commonwealth, 613 S.E.2d 570 (Va. 2005)

The U.S. Supreme Court in Kansas v. Hendricks, 521 U.S. 346 (1997), and Kansas v. Crane, 534 U.S. 407 (2002), defused most federal constitutional challenges to the civil commitment of sexual offenders under the sexually violent predator (SVP) statutes enacted by many states in recent years.  State constitutions could, nevertheless, provide an alternative basis for challenging these enactments.

Found in DMHL Volume 25 Issue 1