DeLeon v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 12 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Q. Now rehabilitation of sex offenders: Are they ever rehabilitated to the point where the risk is gone? A. No. Absolutely not. The risk will always be there. It may be minimized or lessened, but the risk will always remain because we don’t know what anybody here is thinking. We can never assume that we know what a sex offender is thinking. [P] The risk is this: they were sex offenders before they committed the offense. So we don’t know what he is thinking, what they’re planning. We can give them treatment, we can do all the things that are required by law; but we can’t see up here, so we can never truly predict what is going to happen from day one to day two. [P] You have got to assume all the risk because you have heard story after story, “I never thought he would do this; I never thought my grandfather would do this; I never thought my dad would do this.” [P] So you never, ever push out the risk. You always assume the risk is great, then hopefully that is going to create enough protection to prevent other children from being impacted one way or the other. You just don’t know. [P] I can have guys that do everything perfectly, but up here they’re still having sexual fantasies of molesting two-year-old girls or two-year-old boys. Just because you succeed well in probation does not remove the risk.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Cueva v. State

2. “Q. If in a particular case the facts were to show that what a person was convicted for was a situation where either through opportunity or through planning it was in a position where nobody else would see it, it was secretive; unless a child talked nobody would know. Is that risk still there if the people around aren’t trying to prevent that? A. Sure. That risk will always be there. The risk will never disappear. Regardless if they get alone with the child, regardless if there are other adults in the house, the risk re mains. [P] The risk is in the brain. It’s up here. It’s the desire. You can put a person in prison, you can do anything you want to them. You cannot get rid of the deviancy, the sexual desire, in any offender. [P] Sexual behavior is natural, but when it becomes deviant, that is when we get worries. Once it is with them, it doesn’t disappear. That is the purpose of treatment. [P] Punishment — I don’t care what kind of punishment you give somebody, it never forces the issues out of their brain. They will always have some kind of deviant sexual desire, and they will always be at risk to the community. That is just the way it works.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Cueva v. State