Virginia Supreme Court Clarifies Scope and Operation of Sexually Violent Predator Commitment Law

Townes v. Commonwealth, 609 S.E.2d 1 (Va. 2005)

Legislation that permits prison inmates to be involuntarily hospitalized as a sexually violent predator (SVP) upon the completion of their prison term has been widely enacted across the country.  Courts asked to review this legislation have generally upheld it.  On the few occasions in which a court has read this legislation in such a way that its scope and impact is narrowed, legislators have tended to respond by enacting additional legislation that clarifies that they intended it to have a broader reach...

Found in DMHL Volume 24 Issue 2