In Re: A.C., Appeal of: A.C. ( 2020 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
IN RE: A.C. : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
APPEAL OF: A.C. :
:
:
:
:
: No. 287 WDA 2019
Appeal from the Order Entered January 29, 2019
In the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County Civil Division at No(s):
M.D. No. 04-40311
BEFORE: MURRAY, J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and COLINS, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY McLAUGHLIN, J.: FILED JULY 1, 2020
In this appeal, A.C. raises challenges under the Pennsylvania and United
States Constitutions to the Court-Ordered Involuntary Treatment of Certain
Sexually Violent Persons Statute (“Act 21”), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6401-6409. He
has appealed from the order granting the Commonwealth’s motion to review
commitment and ordering that he is to remain committed to the Pennsylvania
Sexual Responsibility and Treatment Program at Torrance State Hospital for
an additional year. We affirm.
A.C. was adjudicated delinquent for multiple counts of involuntary
deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault. In December 2004, the trial
court found by clear and convincing evidence that A.C. met the criteria for civil
commitment pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6403 and ordered A.C. committed to
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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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involuntary treatment for one year. Every year since his involuntary
commitment, the trial court has held annual review hearings. Following each
hearing, the trial court has ordered an additional year of treatment.
In October 2018, the Commonwealth filed a motion to review
commitment pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6358, and A.C. countered with a
motion for a hearing for his release. Following a hearing in January 2019, the
trial court concluded that A.C. “continue[d] to have serious difficulty
controlling sexually violent behavior while committed for inpatient treatment
due to a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes him likely to
engage in an act of sexual violence.” Order, filed Jan. 29, 2019. It ordered
A.C. to remain committed for a period of one year pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. §
6404. Id. It denied A.C.’s motion for a hearing to release A.C. Id. A.C. filed a
timely notice of appeal.
A.C. raises the following issue: “Whether Act 21 violates the
Constitutions of Pennsylvania and the United States given the criminal nature
of the statute after In Re: J.C., 1391 WDA 2017[,1] Commonwealth v.
Muniz, 164 A.3d 1189 (Pa. 2017)[,] and Commonwealth v. Butler, 173
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1 A panel of this Court in In re J.C., held that Act 21 was punitive and
unconstitutional. In re J.C., --- A.3d ----, 2020 WL 2463048, at *4 (Pa.Super.
May 13, 2020) (en banc). This Court granted a petition for re-argument, and
concluded that, in light of Commonwealth v. Butler, 226 A.3d 972 (Pa.
2020) (“Butler II”), and In re H.R., --- A.3d ----, 2020 WL 1542422 (Pa.
filed Apr. 1, 2020), J.C.’s claim that Act 21 was unconstitutional was meritless.
In re J.C., --- A.3d ----, 2020 WL 2463048, at *5.
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A.3d 1212 (Pa. Super. 2017)[(“Butler I”), reversed by --- A.3d ----, 2020 WL
1466299 (Pa. 2020)].” A.C.’s Br. at 2.
Act 21 “directs the court to order involuntary inpatient treatment for a
sexually violent delinquent child (‘SVDC’) if it finds ‘by clear and convincing
evidence that the person has a mental abnormality or personality disorder
which results in serious difficulty in controlling sexually violent behavior that
makes the person likely to engage in an act of sexual violence.’” In re J.C., -
-- A.3d ----, 2020 WL 2463048, at *1 n.1 (quoting 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6403(d)).
A court reviews the involuntary inpatient treatment order annually and “may
extend [it] indefinitely if the individual continues to meet the criteria for
involuntary inpatient treatment.” Id.
A.C. argues that Muniz and Butler I “compel the conclusion that Act
21 as applied to civil commitments of persons who have been later found to
be subject to Act 21 are committed as an unconstitutional punitive sentence.”
A.C.’s Br.at 3. In Muniz, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the
registration requirements set forth in the Sexual Offender’s Registration and
Notification Act (“SORNA”), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9799.10-9799.41, were punitive
and their retroactive application violated the ex post facto clause of the
Pennsylvania Constitution. Muniz, 164 A.3d at 1193. In Butler I, this Court
held that the sexually violent predator (“SVP”) requirements under SORNA
were punitive and it violated an individual’s due process rights to determine
whether he or she was an SVP by applying the preponderance of the evidence
standard. Butler I, 173 A.3d at 1218. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme
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Court recently overruled our decision in Butler I, and held that the
registration, notification, and counseling requirements imposed upon SVPs
under SORNA are not punitive. Commonwealth v. Butler, 226 A.3d 972,
988-93 (Pa. 2020) (“Butler II”); see also In re J.C., --- A.3d ----, 2020 WL
2463048, at *5. A trial court may therefore determine whether an offender
was an SVP by the preponderance of the evidence without violating due
process principles. Butler II, 226 A.3d at 993.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also recently issued a decision in In
re H.R., wherein it concluded that Act 21 was not punitive. In re H.R., ---
A.3d ----, 2020 WL 1542422 (Pa. filed Apr. 1, 2020); see also In re J.C., --
- A.3d ----, 2020 WL 2463048, at *5. The In re H.R. Court balanced the
Mendoza-Martinez2 factors, and concluded the factors tipped in favor of
deeming the statute non-punitive. Id. at *10-14. The Court reasoned:
Despite the fact that Act 21 imposes obvious affirmative
disabilities or restraints upon SVDCs, our review of the
remaining Mendoza-Martinez factors leads to the
conclusion the statutory scheme is not punitive in intent or
effect. Act 21 provides treatment to SVDCs rather than
imposing restrictions that were historically considered
punishment, and does not promote the typically punitive
goals of deterrence and retribution. Furthermore, Act 21
protects the public from SVDCs, who have never been
convicted of a crime, but are subject to the statutory
restrictions because they are dangerously mentally ill.
Lastly, Act 21, including the 2011 amendments, cannot be
said to be excessive in light of the danger posed to the public
by SVDCs. Based on all of the above, we conclude Act 21
does not constitute criminal punishment.
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2 Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144 (1963).
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In re H.R., 2020 WL 1542422, at *14.
This Court in In re J.C. reviewed the recent Supreme Court cases and
concluded that, in light of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decisions in Butler
II and In re H.R., J.C.’s claim that Act 21 was unconstitutional failed. In re
J.C., --- A.3d ----, 2020 WL 2463048, at *5. We similarly conclude that, in
light of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decisions in Butler II and In re
H.R., and our en banc Court’s decision in In re J.C., Act 21 is constitutional
and A.C.’s claim fails.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 7/1/2020
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