Missouri Supreme Court debates sex-offender confinement

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The attorney for a man convicted of sodomy told Missouri Supreme Court judges Wednesday her client should not have been committed to a state sex-offender treatment program after serving prison time -- a case that could change how such commitments are handled.

Carl Kirk, 51, is the first to appeal his placement in a Missouri program that allows the state to confine certain sex offenders to a mental institution after they complete their sentences, his public defender Chelsea Mitchell said.

Mitchell told the judges no one has been released from the program and the law is punitive and constitutes indefinite confinement. She also said the process for committing offenders under the law should be revamped.

She cited last year's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Fleissig that found individuals can be civilly confined only if "they are both mentally ill and dangerous." Flessig said in the ruling there were systemic failures that led to individuals being held for longer than necessary.

Kirk, who served time in prison for sodomizing a minor, was unfairly committed using the current standard, Mitchell argued. She said the state had to prove with clear and convincing evidence Kirk was not safe to be released and was more likely than not to commit sexual violence again.

"The burden should be on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, just like any other type of proceeding where an individual is subject to such a loss of liberty," Mitchell said.

Assistant attorney general Gregory Goodwin said the state Supreme Court previously has upheld the current process, which was put into place by the Legislature. He said there are opportunities for release, and it protects offenders' rights.

He worked to convince judges the federal ruling should not play a role in Kirk's case, saying Mitchell's argument assumes Kirk will face similar challenges getting out of confinement as others dealt with in the federal class-action suit.

"What Mr. Kirk is really doing is asking this court to make those two assumptions: that the district court is correct, and that the law will be unconstitutionally applied to Mr. Kirk," Goodwin said. He added Kirk will have "many opportunities in the future if he feels that the release procedures are being properly applied to him" to go to court.

The high court's judges did not indicate when they might rule.