Civil Commitment – Criminal Law Wire

Tomaso — Court Vacates SDP Commitment Where Experts Relied on Dismissed Charges Without Required Voir Dire

/ July 2, 2026

The Massachusetts Appeals Court vacated a sexually dangerous person (SDP) civil commitment after finding that all three Commonwealth experts had based their sexual sadism disorder diagnoses almost entirely on facts from police reports for charges dismissed in 2002 and 2003. Because the petitioner requested a voir dire on independent admissibility and the Commonwealth never showed the complainants could or would testify, allowing the experts to rely on those allegations without an admissibility hearing was reversible error under Markvart and Department of Youth Servs. v. A Juvenile.

Matter of State of New York v. John T. — Third Department Holds Clear-and-Convincing Standard Constitutional for MHL Art. 10 Sexual Motivation Finding

Third Department affirms civil confinement under Mental Hygiene Law Article 10, joining the First and Fourth Departments in holding that due process does not require the ‘sexual motivation’ element of a pre-SOMTA offense to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt — clear and convincing evidence is constitutionally sufficient.