A Stitch in Haste

New York Governor George Pataki has ordered that convicted sex offenders not be freed even after their sentences have been served:

The order extends the state's involuntary commitment law, normally used for the mentally ill, to sexual predators. It requires offenders nearing the end of their sentences undergo an evaluation to determine if they are a public safety risk.

"The governor can't wait any longer for the Assembly leadership to pass his proposal," Pataki spokesman Kevin Quinn said. He acknowledged that "this aggressive interpretation might open us up to lawsuits."
...
The New York Civil Liberties Union said it was monitoring the policy and had not decided whether to sue. Executive Director Donna Lieberman said Pataki had assumed the role of both judge and legislature with the order.

You read that right: "The governor can't wait any longer for the Assembly leadership to pass his proposal." In other words, if a governor wants a law passed, and the legislature doesn't do so, then he can simply order whatever he wants anyway? It's now the role of a legislature to veto the executive rather than vice versa?

And of course there are some not-so-subtle due process issues here. A person simply cannot be denied their liberty interest (i.e., detained, whether in a prison or a mental institution), without due process of law. Duly-enacted civil confinement laws may be constitutional, but that does not mean that those potentially confined have no rights before their confinement. The fact that they are already confined as convicted sex offenders is irrelevant.

Sex offender penalties are harsh and prison sentences lengthy. You would think that the criminal justice system would have plenty of time to evaluate the mental health generally and recidivism potential specifically of convicted sex offenders sometime before their sentences are up.

Governor Pataki's order is a flagrant abuse of executive power that usurps the basic legislative process as well as the due process process rights of those confined. It must be revoked, either by the legislature or the courts.

UPDATE: Twelve "civilly confined" sex offenders are now suing to have the law invalidated.