Opinion ID: 2588468
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Less Restrictive Alternatives to Complete Confinement

Text: The second issue presented by this case is whether the fact finder must consider less restrictive alternatives (LRAs) to total confinement during the initial commitment hearing and the scope of the LRAs to be considered. We begin our analysis by summarizing the prior treatment of LRAs in SVP commitment proceedings. Our precedents have established that the source of an SVP's right to consideration of LRAs at commitment flows from the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. Equal protection does not require that all persons be dealt with identically, but it does require that a distinction made have some relevance to the purpose for which the classification is made. Baxstrom v. Herold, 383 U.S. 107, 111, 86 S.Ct. 760, 15 L.Ed.2d 620 (1966) (holding dangerousness a rational distinction for purposes of determining the type of custodial care to be given). We relied upon Baxstrom to analyze whether the State could consider LRAs to total confinement under chapter 71.05 RCW, the involuntary commitment act, while denying consideration of LRAs under chapter 71.09 RCW, the SVPA. In re Pers. Restraint of Young, 122 Wash.2d 1, 857 P.2d 989 (1993). We held equal protection requires the State to comply with provisions of RCW 71.05 as related to the consideration of less restrictive alternatives. In re Young, 122 Wash.2d at 47, 857 P.2d 989. We remanded Young's case for consideration of alternatives to confinement and concluded [b]ecause the sex predator determination has already been made, the finder of fact need only consider if the less restrictive alternatives are appropriate. Young, 122 Wash.2d at 47, 857 P.2d 989 (emphasis added). Our Young holding and subsequent interpretations by the Court of Appeals led to a number of legislative amendments to the SVPA. As originally enacted, the SVPA did not include any LRAs to confinement. See Laws of 1990, ch. 3, § 1001. In 1995, after our decision in Young, the legislature amended the SVPA to include LRAs (1995 amendments). However, under the statute, LRAs could be considered only after initial commitment. RCW 71.09.090-.098. The 1995 amendments also altered the definition of a sexually violent predator to mean a person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility. RCW 71.09.020(16) (emphasis added). The 1995 amendments spawned further equal protection challenges. Division One of the Court of Appeals examined the preclusion of LRAs at trial and held it was rational to impose total confinement before undertaking consideration of whether a less restrictive treatment program is a viable option. In re Det. of Brooks, 94 Wash.App. 716, 722, 973 P.2d 486 (1999) aff'd in part, rev'd in part on other grounds by 145 Wash.2d 275, 36 P.3d 1034 (2001). Division One found the greater dangerousness and different treatment requirements posed by SVPs provided a rational basis for allowing consideration of LRAs only after the SVP had been confined in a secure facility. Division Two of the Court of Appeals disagreed, but did not do so on equal protection grounds. Instead, Division Two construed the 1995 definitional change to entitle SVP detainees to present proof of LRAs at their commitment hearings as a defense to commitment under the SVPA's definition of a sexually violent predator. Ross, 102 Wash.App. at 114, 6 P.3d 625. In response to Ross, the legislature sought to prevent consideration of hypothetical LRAs as a defense to commitment and amended the SVPA in four ways. First, the legislature added a new section to chapter 71.09 precluding the consideration of LRAs during the commitment hearing. RCW 71.09.015; Laws of 2001, ch. 286, § 1. Second, the legislature restricted the definition of LRAs to court-ordered treatment in a setting less restrictive than total confinement which satisfies the conditions set forth in RCW 71.09.092 [the annual LRA petition provision]. Laws of 2001, ch. 286, § 4(7). Third, the legislature amended the procedures at commitment to preclude consideration of placement and treatment options other than those available on unconditional release and to prevent courts from ordering LRAs prior to the annual LRA review petition. Laws of 2001, ch. 286, § 7(1). Finally, in a later special session, the legislature added several additional definitions regarding secure facilities, which are discussed in detail below. Laws of 2001, 2d Spec. Sess., ch. 12, § 102. In 2001, we addressed the issue of LRAs to resolve the disagreement between decisions of the Court of Appeals. We held that there was no rational basis to differentiate in the timing of consideration of LRAs between persons committed under chapter 71.05 RCW and the SVPA. In re Det. of Brooks, 145 Wash.2d 275, 36 P.3d 1034 (2001). We also took the unusual step of vacating the petitioners' commitments and remanding for new commitment hearings where LRAs would be considered. Brooks, 145 Wash.2d at 292-93, 36 P.3d 1034. Because LRAs were legislatively barred from consideration at commitment, we held that SVPs were entitled to unconditional release if the court or the jury determined an LRA was appropriate. Brooks, 145 Wash.2d at 292, 36 P.3d 1034. We concluded this holding entitled the State to a jury instruction to the effect that the only remedy other than total confinement was unconditional release, but we prohibited the State from arguing no LRA could exist because the court ha[d] no power to order such placement and treatment. Brooks, 145 Wash.2d at 293, 36 P.3d 1034. In the present case, the petitioners again compare themselves to those entitled to consideration of LRAs under chapter 71.05. The petitioners argue that the statutory prohibition against considering LRAs during their commitment hearings under the SVPA violates their right to equal protection under the law and entitles them at least to new commitment hearings and, at most, to complete release. [9] Gordon also argues that the consideration of LRAs must include the equivalent of LRAs under chapter 71.05, whether available under the SVPA or not. [10] The State counters by urging us to abandon portions of Brooks in light of subsequent legislative amendments. Alternatively, the State argues the scope of review on remand is purely dispositional in nature and should be restricted to LRAs approved under the SVPA. Finally, both parties assert that the jury instructions regarding LRAs have proved difficult to implement. We acknowledge that lower courts have experienced difficulty implementing the holdings of our decision in Brooks and take this opportunity to reexamine our decision. We initially turn to the scope of the LRAs to be considered. Under the 2001 amendments, the SVPA restricts the court and jury from considering LRAs other than those appropriate to an SVP. RCW 71.09.015. We must decide whether this violates equal protection principles. We use rational basis review to resolve equal protection claims involving the consideration of LRAs in SVP commitment proceedings. See In re Det. of Turay, 139 Wash.2d 379, 409-10, 986 P.2d 790 (1999). Rational basis review requires we look for a legitimate governmental objective and a rational means of achieving it. See Turay, 139 Wash.2d at 410, 986 P.2d 790. We emphasize that rational basis review is highly deferential to the legislature. We uphold a legislative classification `unless it rests on grounds wholly irrelevant to the achievement of legitimate state objectives.' Turay, 139 Wash.2d at 410, 986 P.2d 790 (quoting State v. Thorne, 129 Wash.2d 736, 771, 921 P.2d 514 (1996)). As the United States Supreme Court has held, [a]s long as [the State] `rationally advances a reasonable and identifiable governmental objective, we must disregard' the existence of alternative methods of furthering the objective' that we, as individuals, perhaps would have preferred.' Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312, 330, 113 S.Ct. 2637, 125 L.Ed.2d 257 (1993) (quoting Schweiker v. Wilson, 450 U.S. 221, 101 S.Ct. 1074, 67 L.Ed.2d 186 (1981)). Even rational speculation unsupported by evidence or empirical data provides a basis for upholding the classification under this level of review. Heller, 509 U.S. at 320, 113 S.Ct. 2637. The burden rests with the party challenging the classification to show it is purely arbitrary. Gossett v. Farmers Ins. Co., 133 Wash.2d 954, 979, 948 P.2d 1264 (1997). We first note that SVPs have treatment issues distinct from those amenable to treatment under chapter 71.05. The legislature specifically found that SVPs do not have a mental disease or defect rendering them appropriate for treatment under chapter 71.05. RCW 71.09.010; Turay, 139 Wash.2d at 410-11, 986 P.2d 790. Second, unlike persons eligible for civil commitment under chapter 71.05, the legislature found that SVPs are highly likely to engage in repeat acts of predatory sexual violence. As a result, SVP treatment needs are long term, and the treatment modalities for the SVP population are very different from the traditional treatment modalities for people better treated under chapter 71.05. Turay, 139 Wash.2d at 411, 986 P.2d 790. We conclude, as we have previously, that providing treatment specific to SVPs and protecting society from the heightened risk of sexual violence they present are legitimate state objectives. Turay, 139 Wash.2d at 410, 986 P.2d 790 (`it is irrefutable that the State has a compelling interest both in treating sex predators and protecting society from their actions'  (emphasis added) (quoting 122 Wash.2d at 26, 857 P.2d 989)). We now conclude that differentiating between LRAs for those involuntarily committed under chapter 71.05 and the SVPA is a rational means to achieve these legitimate objectives. The LRAs under chapter 71.05 do not consider the treatment issues unique to SVPs or the particular danger SVPs may present to the public. We conclude this constitutes a rational basis to restrict LRAs in SVP proceedings to those the legislature has found appropriate for the treatment of SVPs. We hold that this provision does not violation equal protection principles. Our conclusion is bolstered by our determination that the current definition of a secure facility under the SVPA allows the functional equivalent of LRAs to be considered under the SVPA without reliance upon those provided for by chapter 71.05. A [s]exually violent predator is defined as any person who has been convicted of or charged with a crime of sexual violence and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility. RCW 71.09.020(16). Secure facilities are residential facilities that include security measures sufficient to protect the community. RCW 71.09.020(13). Secure facilities include total confinement facilities, secure community transition facilities, and any residence used as a court-ordered placement under RCW 71.09.096 [the annual LRA petition provision]. Id. A [t]otal confinement facility is a facility that provides supervision and sex offender treatment services in a total confinement setting. RCW 71.09.020(17). A [s]ecure community transition facility is a residential facility for persons civilly committed and conditionally released to a less restrictive alternative under [the SVPA]. RCW 71.09.020(14). Therefore, the current definition of a secure facility under the SVPA allows the functional equivalent of LRAs to be considered independently of chapter 71.05. We next reexamine whether the SVPA, as amended in 2001 in response to Ross, violates equal protection because it prohibits consideration of LRAs at the initial commitment trial when chapter 71.05 does allow consideration of LRAs at initial commitment. Unlike someone committed under chapter 71.05, a sexually violent predator is someone who, by definition, is likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility and is not amenable to voluntary treatment on unconditional release. RCW 71.09.020(16) (emphasis added). The SVPA limits the fact finder at the initial hearing to the consideration of placement conditions and voluntary treatment options that would exist for the person if unconditionally released from detention. RCW 71.09.060(1). This means a fact finder may consider evidence that voluntary treatment on unconditional release is appropriate. Because this goes to whether the definition of SVP is met, the individual may bring this evidence in defense of commitment. The SVPA restricts the court, however, from ordering an LRA prior to a hearing under the annual LRA review provision, RCW 71.09.090, following initial commitment. RCW 71.09.060(4). Because of this restriction on the trial court, those who meet the statutory definition and are committed as SVPs are not entitled to consideration of LRAs until their first annual review. In contrast, those subject to commitment under chapter 71.05 are entitled to consideration of whether they should be detained for a period of either evaluation or treatment, or both, in an inpatient or a less restrictive setting at their initial commitment hearing. RCW 71.05.020(4) (emphasis added). Again, we engage in rational basis review. Turay, 139 Wash.2d at 410, 986 P.2d 790. As we explained above, providing appropriate treatment for SVPs and protecting society from the heightened risk of violence that they create when in the community are legitimate state objectives. At issue here is whether delaying the consideration of appropriate LRAs for SVPs until their first annual review rationally furthers these objectives. The State asserts, as it did in Brooks, that treatment specific to an individual SVP requires an individual to spend a period of time in intensive inpatient treatment. In Brooks, we held that this rationale was arbitrary because there is a 45-day period of examination between a potential SVP's probable cause hearing and commitment trial during which a person could be evaluated. Furthermore, the trial can be delayed upon a showing of good cause, giving the State more time for its evaluation. Brooks, 145 Wash.2d at 291-92, 36 P.3d 1034. The State emphasizes here, however, that the time for LRA evaluation must be spent in intensive inpatient treatment, which occurs only after commitment. Before commitment, the individuals are preoccupied with their legal challenges. Defense lawyers often direct their clients awaiting trial to limit their participation in treatment by not making any admissions or acknowledgments of past violent sexual acts or desires to commit such acts. Similarly, inmates in prison-based treatment programs while incarcerated are motivated not to discuss their offense cycle in order to avoid SVP commitment upon release. Successful treatment and evaluation for LRAs, however, depends on openly discussing and understanding one's past violent sexual behavior and the desire to commit acts of sexual violence in the future. The State argues that it is only after commitment that SVPs tend to participate in treatment fully and the appropriateness of LRAs can accurately be evaluated. Given the deference we must afford the legislative classification in this case, we conclude that the State's reasons for delaying consideration of LRAs are rationally related to the treatment of sexually violent predators. The petitioners here have not met their burden to show delaying consideration of LRAs until the first annual review is purely arbitrary. We therefore do not reach issues of severability. We conclude there is no further need for explanatory jury instructions regarding the treatment of LRAs under the SVPA. To the extent our holding here conflicts with Brooks, that case is overruled.