New York - Civil Commitment

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State Civil Commitment Center: Central New York Psychiatric Center (150 beds) Maureen Bosco, Executive Director P.O. Box 300 Marcy, NY 13403-0300 Telephone: (315) 765-3600 Fax: (315) 765-3629 St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center (80 beds) Tim Farrell, Executive Director 1 Chimney Point Drive Ogdensburg, NY 13669-2291 Telephone: (315) 541-2001 Fax: (315) 541-2041 Manhattan Psychiatric Center (20 beds Temporary) Vincent Miccoli, Executive Director Wards Island New York, NY 10035-6098 Telephone:(646) 672-6000 Fax: (646) 672-6446 Commitment Laws: Mental Hygiene Law art 10.01-10.17 and see also HERE Sex Offender Management & Treatment Act: Contains an excellent description of how NY's program works: First Year and an excellent PDF flowchart of the process and an excellent FAQ page. Fact Sheet: SOMTA/Civil Management and Frequently Asked Questions Alphabetic Index of Directives, by Subject, Forms, Manual References, Acronyms, and Definitions: HERE New York Court System: New York's Statutory Scheme _______ is currently confined in the Central New York Psychiatric Center ("CNYPC")1 pursuant to the New York Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act ("SOMTA"), as codified within Article 10 of the New York Mental Hygiene Law ("MHL"). SOMTA, enacted in 2007, "creat[ed] a new regime authorizing `civil management' of certain sex offenders after completion of their prison terms, parole terms, or other period of state custody." Mental Hygiene Legal Servs. v. Cuomo, 785 F.Supp.2d 205, 210 (S.D.N.Y. 2011). Under SOMTA, when a person who may be a detained sex offender2 is nearing an anticipated release from confinement, a case review team3 evaluates the individual and makes a preliminary determination whether he or she is a "sex offender requiring civil management," MHL § 10.05(e). A "sex offender requiring civil management" is a detained sex offender who "suffers from a mental abnormality." There are two types: "a dangerous sex offender requiring confinement" and "a sex offender requiring strict and intensive supervision."4 MHL § 10.03(q). If the case review team determines that a detained sex offender requires civil management, the Attorney General may file a "sex offender civil management petition" in New York State Court. MHL § 10.06(a). Within thirty days of the date of the petition, the court "shall conduct a hearing without a jury to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that the [individual] is a sex offender requiring civil management." MHL § 10.06(g). If the individual is not in custody when the civil management petition is filed or becomes eligible for release prior to the probable cause hearing, "the court shall order [his or her] return to confinement" or stay the individual's release pending the completion of the hearing. MHL § 10.06(h). The hearing must then take place within seventy-two hours of the individual's anticipated release date or return to confinement. Id. ... ... Source: ALLEN v. BOSCO State Cases: 2010-06-15: The People &c. ex rel. Joseph -v- Superintendent of Southport Correctional Facility, et al., -AND- In the Matter of State of New York -v- Humberto G. (Anonymous) (Court of Appeals) (Civil Commit - Illegally Detained) ( Article 10 of the Mental Hygiene Law, enacted in 2007, provides that certain imprisoned sex offenders may be transferred to mental hospitals, rather than being released, when their prison terms expire. The statute raises important questions concerning the procedural and substantive rights of the prisoners to whom it applies, but those questions are not before us in this case. We have here the narrower issue of whether the statute applies to a particular class of prisoners: those who were incarcerated for violating the conditions of a term of post release supervision (PRS) that was improperly added to their sentences by the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) without court authorization. We hold that these prisoners are within the coverage of the statute, which we read as applying to offenders actually imprisoned, even if the procedure that led to their imprisonment was flawed. ........ Accordingly, in People ex rel. Joseph II v Superintendent of Southport Correctional Facility, et al., the order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, without costs, and the petition dismissed. In Matter of State of New York v Humberto G., the order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, without costs, and Humberto G.'s motion to dismiss the article 10 proceeding denied. )

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