Recent NJ Supreme Court Decision Regarding Sexually Violent Predators
A recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision considered potential civil commitment under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. The recent NJ Supreme Court decision, In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of JMB, A-79-07, held that the Sexually Violent Predator Act allows judges to order civil commitment based on clear and convincing evidence that the underlying offenses belie conduct "substantially equivalent" to a crime listed in section (a) of the statute.
The governing statute is N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.26 which provides in pertinent part:
"Sexually violent offense" means:
(a) aggravated sexual assault; sexual assault; aggravated criminal sexual contact; kidnapping pursuant to subparagraph (b) of paragraph (2) of subsection c. of N.J.S.A. 2C:13-1 criminal sexual contact; felony murder pursuant to paragraph (3) of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3 if the underlying crime is sexual assault; an attempt to commit any of these enumerated offenses; or a criminal offense with substantially the same elements as any offense enumerated above, entered or imposed under the laws of the United States, this State or another state; or
(b) any offense for which the court makes a specific finding on the record that, based on the circumstances of the case, the person's offense should be considered a sexually violent offense.
As you can see, section (a) is very clear and lists the offenses which are considered sexually violent. However, section (b) is a "catch-all" provision and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The NJ Supreme Court stated in this opinion that, "[w]e hold therefore that when faced with an application for civil commitment under subsection (b), a court may consider the circumstances that led to the qualifying prior conviction. When that conduct is substantially equivalent to the sexually violent conduct encompassed by the offenses listed in subsection (a), then that prior conviction may provide the predicate for a commitment application under subsection (b)."
As a result, the court must find that the offense which is not specifically enumerated in section (a) is substantially equivalent to the sexually violent offenses listed in section (a) and, therefore, worthy of civil commitment.
