Cite as: 504 U. S. 71 (1992)
Thomas, J., dissenting
required for civil committees by Addington v. Texas, 441 U. S. 418 (1979). There are, we recognized, "important differences between the class of potential civil-commitment candidates and the class of insanity acquittees that justify differing standards of proof." Jones, 463 U. S., at 367. In sharp contrast to a civil committee, an insanity acquittee is institutionalized only where "the acquittee himself advances insanity as a defense and proves that his criminal act was a product of his mental illness," and thus "there is good reason for diminished concern as to the risk of error." Ibid. (emphasis in original). "More important, the proof that he committed a criminal act . . . eliminates the risk that he is being committed for mere 'idiosyncratic behavior.' " Ibid. Thus, we concluded, the preponderance of the evidence standard com-ports with due process for commitment of insanity acquit-tees. Id., at 368. "[I]nsanity acquittees constitute a special class that should be treated differently from other candidates for commitment." Id., at 370.
The Court today attempts to circumvent Jones by declaring that a State's interest in treating insanity acquittees differently from civil committees evaporates the instant an acquittee "becomes sane." I do not agree. As an initial matter, I believe that it is unwise, given our present understanding of the human mind, to suggest that a determination that a person has "regained sanity" is precise. "Psychiatry is not . . . an exact science, and psychiatrists disagree widely and frequently on what constitutes mental illness." Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U. S. 68, 81 (1985). Indeed,
"[w]e have recognized repeatedly the 'uncertainty of diagnosis in this field and the tentativeness of professional judgment. The only certain thing that can be said about the present state of knowledge and therapy regarding mental disease is that science has not reached finality of judgment.' The lesson we have drawn is not that government may not act in the face of this uncertainty, but rather that courts should pay particular
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