Opinion ID: 196623
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The District Court Order on Ecker's Motion to Dismiss

Text: 8 In the district court, Ecker advanced two grounds for dismissal of the indictment. First, he contended that the statute under which he was committed, 18 U.S.C. § 4246, requires, upon commitment, dismissal of pending charges upon commitment. Second, he asserted that the pendency of the indictment interfered with his purported right to be placed in a state institution, depriving Ecker of his constitutional right to due process. 9 The district court denied Ecker's motion to dismiss the indictment, holding that the commitment statute did not require dismissal of the indictment, finding no support for Ecker's statutory argument in the statute's language, its legislative history, or in caselaw. The court also rejected Ecker's due process argument, concluding that the statute cannot be fairly read to confer a liberty interest, protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, in being committed to a state institution rather than a 'suitable facility' chosen by the Attorney General.