New York can go forward with a proceeding to determine if a sex offender about to be released from state prison should be civilly confined, even though he is bound for a 19-year federal prison term on another sex-related charge and is not likely to be released into the general population in the foreseeable future, a state judge has determined. Onondaga County Supreme Court Justice James C. Tormey III (See Profile) held in State of New York v. Calhoun, 11-0725, there is “absolutely no authority” in the law for Norman Calhoun’s argument that the state cannot proceed with the civil confinement action because his release is not “imminent,” as is required to trigger the proceedings.
“The State of New York has an overriding interest in securing the safety of its citizens against dangerous sexual predators, and providing mental health treatment to those who possess a ‘mental abnormality,’ which caused the recidivism of the offenses,” Justice Tormey wrote. “Indeed, that was the purpose behind the passing of Mental Hygiene Law Article 10.”
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