United States v. Comstock

A federal statute, 18 U.S.C. section 4248, allows a district court to civilly commit a mentally ill, sexually dangerous federal inmate past his release date if the government shows by clear and convincing evidence that he engaged in sexually violent conduct or child molestation, currently suffers a serious mental illness, and is sexually dangerous as a result, with the government required to transfer the inmate to a willing state instead if one exists. Comstock and four other federal inmates (defendants/plaintiffs below), all previously convicted of child pornography or sexual abuse offenses, faced civil commitment proceedings and moved to dismiss, arguing Congress lacked authority to enact the statute; the district court agreed and the court of appeals affirmed on that ground, leading the government to seek certiorari on the narrow question of Congress's constitutional authority.