Seling v. Young, 531 U.S. 250, 16 (2001)

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Cite as: 531 U. S. 250 (2001)

Opinion of the Court

ated, would be sufficient to refute the Washington Supreme Court's conclusion that the Act is civil, and to require the release of all those confined under its authority. The Ninth Circuit addressed only respondent's individual case, and we do not decide claims that are not presented by the decision below. Matsushita Elec. Industrial Co. v. Epstein, 516 U. S. 367, 379 (1996). We reject the Ninth Circuit's "as-applied" analysis for double jeopardy and ex post facto claims as fundamentally flawed.

III

Our decision today does not mean that respondent and others committed as sexually violent predators have no remedy for the alleged conditions and treatment regime at the Center. The text of the Washington Act states that those confined under its authority have the right to adequate care and individualized treatment. Wash. Rev. Code § 71.09.080(2) (Supp. 2000); Brief for Petitioner 14. As petitioner acknowledges, if the Center fails to fulfill its statutory duty, those confined may have a state law cause of action. Tr. of Oral Arg. 6, 10-11, 52. It is for the Washington courts to determine whether the Center is operating in accordance with state law and provide a remedy.

State courts, in addition to federal courts, remain competent to adjudicate and remedy challenges to civil confinement schemes arising under the Federal Constitution. As noted above, the Washington Supreme Court has already held that the Washington Act is civil in nature, designed to incapacitate and to treat. In re Young, 122 Wash. 2d, at 18-25, 857 P. 2d, at 996-1000. Accordingly, due process requires that the conditions and duration of confinement under the Act bear some reasonable relation to the purpose for which persons are committed. Foucha v. Louisiana, 504 U. S. 71, 79 (1992); Youngberg v. Romeo, 457 U. S. 307, 324 (1982); Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U. S. 715, 738 (1972).

Finally, we note that a § 1983 action against the Center is pending in the Western District of Washington. See supra,

265

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