Tenth Circuit Rejects Constitutional Challenges to "Clear and Convincing" Standard Pertaining to Post-Trial Civil Commitment Proceedings of Insanity Aquittees

Facing an issue of first impression, the Tenth Circuit held in U.S. v. Weed that requiring an insanity aquittee who seeks release to prove by clear and convincing that his release will not pose a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person, as set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 4243(d), does not violate due process or equal protection. The court ruled that the heightened showing is "justified by the government's strong interest in safeguarding society from insanity acquittees, and that the defendant's assertion of an imperiled liberty interest is somewhat undercut by the fact that the defendant chose to avail himself of the insanity defense in the first place."   More...  [Mark Godsey]