Cite as: 521 U. S. 346 (1997)
Breyer, J., dissenting
strictive alternatives. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 13-4601, 4606B (Supp. 1996-1997); Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code Ann. §§ 6607, 6608 (West Supp. 1997); Minn. Stat. § 253B.09 (1996); N. J. Stat. Ann. § 30:4-27.11d (West 1997); Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 71.09.090 (Supp. 1996-1997); Wis. Stat. § 980.06(2)(b) (Supp. 1993-1994). Only one State other than Kansas, namely Iowa, both delays civil commitment (and consequent treatment) and does not explicitly consider less restrictive alternatives. But the law of that State applies prospectively only, thereby avoiding ex post facto problems. See Iowa Code Ann. § 709C.12 (Supp. 1997) (Iowa SVP Act only "applies to persons convicted of a sexually violent offense on or after July 1, 1997"); see also Appendix, infra. Thus the practical experience of other States, as revealed by their statutes, confirms what the Kansas Supreme Court's finding, the timing of the civil commitment proceeding, and the failure to consider less restrictive alternatives, themselves suggest, namely, that for Ex Post Facto Clause purposes, the purpose of the Kansas Act (as applied to previously convicted offenders) has a punitive, rather than a purely civil, purpose.
Kansas points to several cases as support for a contrary conclusion. It points to Allen—which is, as we have seen, a case in which the Court concluded that Illinois' "civil commitment" proceedings were not criminal. I have explained in detail, however, how the statute here differs from that in Allen, and why Allen's reasoning leads to a different conclusion in this litigation. See supra, at 381-388 and this page.
Kansas also points to Addington v. Texas, where the Court held that the Constitution does not require application of criminal law's "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard in a civil commitment proceeding. 441 U. S., at 428. If some criminal law guarantees such as "reasonable doubt" did not apply in Addington, should other guarantees, such as the prohibition against ex post facto laws, apply here? The answer to this question, of course, lies in the particular statute at issue in Addington—a Texas statute that, this Court ob-
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