Appeal filed by the 4th person ever committed as a sexually violent person under the Sexually Violent Persons (SVP) Commitment Act. Respondent was civilly committed in 2002, then underwent sex offender treatment, and was recommended for release in 2010. Court granted State's motion to revoke Respondent's conditional release, but Appellate Court reversed, and he was returned to conditional release. Trial court denied Respondent a full evidentiary hearing by determining, after reviewing his 2015 annual mental health report, that there was no probable cause to find Respondent had made sufficient progress in treatment "such that he was no longer an SVP." This is equivalent to civil form of life imprisonment without evidentiary hearing ever occurring to determine whether the respondent shoudl be released. Remanded for trial court to conduct evidentiary hearing so Respondent could argue whether he had reached such a low risk of recidivism as to warrant discharge. (FITZGERALD SMITH and COBBS, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act