Section 980.06. Commitment.  


Latest version.
  • If a court or jury determines that the person who is the subject of a petition under s. 980.02 is a sexually violent person, the court shall order the person to be committed to the custody of the department for control, care and treatment until such time as the person is no longer a sexually violent person. A commitment order under this section shall specify that the person be placed in institutional care.
1993 a. 479 ; 1995 a. 276 ; 1997 a. 27 , 275 , 284 ; 1999 a. 9 . In the event that there is a failure to develop an appropriate treatment program, the remedy is to obtain appropriate treatment and not supervised release. State v. Seibert, 220 Wis. 2d 308 , 582 N.W.2d 745 (Ct. App. 1998), 97-2554 . Chapter 980 and s. 51.61 provide the statutory basis for a court to issue an involuntary medication order for individuals who suffer from a chronic mental illness and are committed under ch. 980. State v. Anthony D.B. 2000 WI 94 , 237 Wis. 2d 1 , 614 N.W.2d 435 , 98-0576 . The incremental infringement by s. 980.06 on the liberty interests of those who have a sexually violent, predatory past and are currently suffering from a mental disorder that makes them dangerous sexual predators does not violate constitutional guarantees of due process. State v. Ransdell, 2001 WI App 202 , 247 Wis. 2d 613 , 634 N.W.2d 871 , 00-2224 . Although ch. 51 is more "lenient" with those who are subject to its provisions than is ch. 980, the significant differences between the degree of danger posed by each of the two classes of persons subject to commitment under the two chapters, as well as the differences in what must be proven in order to commit under each, does not result in a violation of equal protection. State v. Williams, 2001 WI App 263 , 249 Wis. 2d 1 , 637 N.W.2d 791 , 00-2899 . Chapter 980, as amended, is not a punitive criminal statute. Because whether a statute is punitive is a threshold question for both double jeopardy and ex post facto analysis, neither of those clauses is violated by ch. 980. State v. Rachel, 2002 WI 81 , 254 Wis. 2d 215 , 646 N.W.2d 375 , 00-0467 . The mere limitation of a committed person's access to supervised release does not impose a restraint to the point that it violates due process. As amended, ch. 980 serves the legitimate and compelling state interests of providing treatment to, and protecting the public from, the dangerously mentally ill. The statute is narrowly tailored to meet those interests, and, as such, it does not violate substantive due process. State v. Rachel, 2002 WI 81 , 254 Wis. 2d 215 , 646 N.W.2d 375 , 00-0467 . Commitment under ch. 980 does not require a separate factual finding that an individual's mental disorder involves serious difficulty for the person in controlling his or her behavior. Proof that the person's mental disorder predisposes the individual to engage in acts of sexual violence and establishes a substantial probability that the person will again commit those acts necessarily and implicitly includes proof that the person's mental disorder involves serious difficulty in controlling his or her behavior. State v. Laxton, 2002 WI 82 , 254 Wis. 2d 185 , 647 N.W.2d 784 , 99-3164 . Chapter 980 does not preclude finding that a person with a sexually-related mental disorder has difficulty in controlling his or her behavior even if that person is able to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. State v. Burgess, 2002 WI App 264 , 258 Wis. 2d 548 , 654 N.W.2d 81 , 00-3074 . Affirmed. 2003 WI 71 , 262 WI 2 d 354, 665 N.W.2d 354 . Chapter 980 does not require the dismissal of a pending commitment petition when the individual subject to the petition is incarcerated because of the revocation of either parole or extended supervision. This section requires the circuit court to order the person to be committed to the custody of DHS for control, care, and treatment, but ch. 980 does not specify when that commitment must commence. While this section sets forth the requirements for a proper commitment order, neither that section nor any other section of ch. 980 contains language stating when the individual requirements of that order must be satisfied. State v. Gilbert, 2012 WI 72 , 342 Wis. 2d 82 , 816 N.W.2d 215 , 10-0594 . Patients civilly committed under ch. 980 are not employees under federal or Wisconsin minimum wage law. Tran v. Speech, 2010 WI App 58 , 324 Wis. 2d 567 , 782 N.W.2d 107 , 09-0884 . Chapter 980 does not require dismissal of a pending commitment petition when the person who is the subject of the petition is incarcerated because of a new sentence or a parole/extended supervision revocation. The wide discretion given to the trial court regarding the timing of the probable cause hearing together with the evident recognition that the subject of the petition might be incarcerated during the commitment proceedings compels the conclusion that the legislature did not intend for commitment proceedings to stop because the person subject to the petition is returned to department of corrections custody. State v. Gilbert, 2011 WI App 61 , 333 Wis. 2d 157 , 798 N.W.2d 889 , 10-0594 . The use of polygraph tests as part of a sex offender treatment program does not violate due process. Wilson v. Watters, 348 F. Supp. 2d 1031 (2004). To the extent that plaintiffs are uncontrollably violent and pose a danger to others, the state is entitled to hold them in segregation for that reason alone. Preserving the safety of the staff and other detainees takes precedence over medical goals. West v. Schwebke, 333 F.3d 745 (2003).