374
Breyer, J., dissenting
hibits the Act's application to Hendricks, who committed his crimes prior to its enactment.
I
I begin with the area of agreement. This Court has held that the civil commitment of a "mentally ill" and "dangerous" person does not automatically violate the Due Process Clause provided that the commitment takes place pursuant to proper procedures and evidentiary standards. See Foucha v. Louisiana, 504 U. S. 71, 80 (1992); Addington v. Texas, 441 U. S. 418, 426-427 (1979). The Kansas Supreme Court, however, held that the Due Process Clause forbids application of the Act to Hendricks for "substantive" reasons, i. e., irrespective of the procedures or evidentiary standards used. The court reasoned that Kansas had not satisfied the "mentally ill" requirement of the Due Process Clause because Hendricks was not "mentally ill." In re Hendricks, 259 Kan. 246, 260-261, 912 P. 2d 129, 137-138 (1996). Moreover, Kansas had not satisfied what the court believed was an additional "substantive due process" requirement, namely, the provision of treatment. Id., at 257-258, 912 P. 2d, at 136. I shall consider each of these matters briefly.
A
In my view, the Due Process Clause permits Kansas to classify Hendricks as a mentally ill and dangerous person for civil commitment purposes. Allen v. Illinois, 478 U. S. 364, 370-371, 373-375 (1986). I agree with the majority that the Constitution gives States a degree of leeway in making this kind of determination. Ante, at 359; Foucha, supra, at 87 (O'Connor, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment); Jones v. United States, 463 U. S. 354, 365, n. 13 (1983). But, because I do not subscribe to all of its reasoning, I shall set forth three sets of circumstances that, taken together, convince me that Kansas has acted within the limits that the Due Process Clause substantively sets.
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