42 U.S.C. § 16971
Section 16971 · Jimmy Ryce State civil commitment programs for sexually dangerous persons
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case 522 F. Supp. 2d 317 - United States v. Shields (2007)
Most recently applied in 626 F. Supp. 2d 184 - United States v. Wilkinson (June 2009)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Except as provided in subsection (b), the Attorney General shall make grants to jurisdictions for the purpose of establishing, enhancing, or operating effective civil commitment programs for sexually dangerous persons.
The Attorney General shall not make any grant under this section for the purpose of establishing, enhancing, or operating any transitional housing for a sexually dangerous person in or near a location where minors or other vulnerable persons are likely to come into contact with that person.
(1) In general
To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a jurisdiction shall, before the expiration of the compliance period—
(A) have established a civil commitment program for sexually dangerous persons that is consistent with guidelines issued by the Attorney General; or
(B) submit a plan for the establishment of such a program.
(2) Compliance period
The compliance period referred to in paragraph (1) expires on the date that is 2 years after July 27, 2006. However, the Attorney General may, on a case-by-case basis, extend the compliance period that applies to a jurisdiction if the Attorney General considers such an extension to be appropriate.
(3) Release notice
(A) Each civil commitment program for which funding is required under this section shall require the issuance of timely notice to a State official responsible for considering whether to pursue civil commitment proceedings upon the impending release of any person incarcerated by the State who—
(i) has been convicted of a sexually violent offense; or
(ii) has been deemed by the State to be at high risk for recommitting any sexual offense against a minor.
(B) The program shall further require that upon receiving notice under subparagraph (A), the State official shall consider whether or not to pursue a civil commitment proceeding, or any equivalent proceeding required under State law.
Not later than January 31 of each year, beginning with 2008, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of jurisdictions in implementing this section and the rate of sexually violent offenses for each jurisdiction.
As used in this section:
(1) The term “civil commitment program” means a program that involves—
(A) secure civil confinement, including appropriate control, care, and treatment during such confinement; and
(B) appropriate supervision, care, and treatment for individuals released following such confinement.
(2) The term “sexually dangerous person” means a person suffering from a serious mental illness, abnormality, or disorder, as a result of which the individual would have serious difficulty in refraining from sexually violent conduct or child molestation.
(3) The term “jurisdiction” has the meaning given such term in section 16911 of this title.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2010.