STATE’S EXPERT DID NOT ESTABLISH RESPONDENT SEX OFFENDER SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL COMMITMENT, SUPREME COURT REVERSED.
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the state did not demonstrate respondent (sex offender) should be subject to civil commitment. The conclusory allegations of the state’s expert were belied by the respondent’s record:
The testimony of the State’s experts fell short of the “detailed psychological portrait” necessary to establish, by clear and convincing evidence, that respondent’s disorders result in his having serious difficulty controlling sexually-offending conduct … . Although respondent’s criminal history includes sexual misconduct, the evidence at trial showed that he spent 24 years in prison without any inappropriate sexual behavior, and successfully completed multiple sex offender treatment programs, including one that he took voluntarily … . The State’s experts’ conclusory testimony that respondent showed only limited gains from the treatment programs is belied by his sex offender treatment records, which are replete with notes showing that he has good impulse control, takes full responsibility for his crimes, expresses remorse for the harm to his victims, and demonstrates honesty and empathy in disclosing his sex offending behavior. Matter of State of New York v Howard H., 2017 NY Slip Op 05311, 1st Dept 6-29-17