Constitutional Law - Nebraska's Sexual Sociopath Act: A Punitive Measure
Loading...
Authors
Heller, Thomas P.
Issue Date
1978
Volume
11
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|State v. Little presented the Nebraska Supreme Court with its second opportunity to review the constitutionality of Nebraska's Sexual Sociopath Act. Under this Act, persons convicted of a sex-related crime are examined by psychiatrists and, if necessary, are confined for an indefinite period in a state institution. For those sexual sociopaths found to be untreatable, confinement could amount to a life sentence. In State v. Irwin, the first case to challenge the Act, the court found that the Act did not violate any constitutional provisions, but noted that the proffered constitutional claims lacked specificity. Little presented specific constitutional issues not previously examined in Nebraska based upon fourteenth amendment equal protection and eighth amendment cruel and unusual punishment grounds. The court found on equal protection violations. However, it did find that, with regard to the untreatable sexual sociopath, the statute was penal in nature; thus the sentence under it was so disproportionate to the offense committed as to constitutute cruel and unusual punishment. To remedy this. infirmity, the court ordered that an annual evaluation must be made of those sexual sociopaths who have previously been found to be untreatable to determine if they have become treatable. With this qualification, the court upheld the Act's constitutionality...
Description
Citation
11 Creighton L. Rev. 1277 (1977-1978)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law