- SEXUAL PREDATORS NEAR ME BEXAR COUNTY HOW TO
- SEXUAL PREDATORS NEAR ME BEXAR COUNTY FULL
- SEXUAL PREDATORS NEAR ME BEXAR COUNTY CODE
Every time I receive a new case, I evaluate whether I believe that this person is an SVP based on scientific research, expert opinions that I respect, and the experiences I’ve had with these cases. Additionally, to pass constitutional muster, the focus of the civil commitment of SVPs must be on treatment and supervision, not on punishment and continued consequence.6Īs the civil commitment chief at SPU, my goal has always been to seek an SVP civil commitment on the individuals who best meet the definition in the legislative findings, not on every sex offender referred. Instead, only a narrowly tailored group of very dangerous sex offenders are appropriate for civil commitment. These legislative findings clearly direct that not every sex offender released from TDCJ is a sexually violent predator. Thus, civil commitment procedures for long-term supervision and treatment of sexually violent predators are necessary and in the interest of the State.5 And of course everyone in the civil division at SPU is available to assist in any way possible, from answering questions via phone and email to trying one of these cases in your jurisdiction.Īccording to the legislative findings in the SVP law, a small but extremely dangerous group of sexually violent predators have a behavioral abnormality that is not amenable to traditional mental illness treatment modalities and which makes them likely to engage in repeated predatory acts of sexual violence. Though I can’t possibly cover everything in a single article, this piece should point Texas prosecutors in the right direction.
SEXUAL PREDATORS NEAR ME BEXAR COUNTY HOW TO
These cases are very different from regular criminal trials, so I have written this article to lay out the basics of how to prepare such a case. In the last two months, the civil attorneys at SPU have assisted prosecutors in Harris, Tarrant, Bexar, and Guadalupe Counties with taking their first SVP cases to trial. Most directly impactful for Texas prosecutors is the new definition of “attorney representing the State” in an SVP civil commitment proceeding, which is now defined as “a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney with felony jurisdiction.”2 Under this new law, when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) refers these cases for civil commitment consideration, it will send them directly to “the attorney representing the state for the county in which the person was most recently convicted of a sexually violent offense,”3 rather than exclusively to the Special Prosecution Unit (SPU)-though there is a provision that allows a local prosecutor to request legal, financial, and technical assistance for a civil commitment proceeding from the SPU.4 That’s because on June 17, 2015, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 746, which significantly altered the way sexually violent predator (SVP) civil commitment proceedings are initiated and pursued in Texas.
If you haven’t already received such a packet on your desk, you just might see one soon. Now imagine this scenario is reality-because it is.
SEXUAL PREDATORS NEAR ME BEXAR COUNTY FULL
In silent response, you either head into the first stage of grief (denial) by shoving the papers to the side of your desk so you can prepare for that day’s docket, or you panic at the prospect of trying a civil case with (gasp!) full civil discovery on a subject you know very little about but that has heavy consequences for your community.
SEXUAL PREDATORS NEAR ME BEXAR COUNTY CODE
Sitting on your desk is a stack of about a hundred documents with a cover letter that reads, “Pursuant to Texas Health & Safety Code §841.023(b), the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has determined that James Rubio1 suffers from a behavioral abnormality that predisposes him to commit a sexually violent offense.” The letter also says that if you wish to proceed with the case, a petition must be filed within 90 days from the day you received it. Imagine that it’s 8 o’clock Monday morning. Here’s how to try one of these tricky civil cases. A new law sends these trials to the county where the predator was most recently convicted of a sexually violent offense. Civil Chief of the Special Prosecution Unit in Walker County Until recently, the Special Prosecution Unit in Huntsville tried all civil commitment proceedings for sexually violent predators-but not anymore.
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