Vashon Tyrone Jackson v. California Dept. Of Mental Health John Demorales, Executive Director California Attorney General
Opinion
Opinion
Kozinski, J.
Petitioner Jackson challenges California’s jurisdiction to confine him under its Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA). Before he filed his federal habeas petition, his SVPA confinement term expired, and he voluntarily recommitted himself. We consider whether he had standing to bring this challenge.
I
California’s SVPA, see Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 6600 et seq., allows the state to confine particularly dangerous individuals who have been convicted of multiple sexual offenses. In order to confine a person under the SVPA, the state must petition a state court to commit him, see id. § 6601(i), and the court (or a jury, if either party so requests) must determine that he is a “sexually violent predator,” see id. § 6604. An SVPA petition may be filed only if the person named in the petition is “in custody ... at the time the petition is filed.” Id. § 6601(a)(2).
The SVPA took effect on January 1, 1996, when Jackson was in prison for a parole violation. At the time, his release was scheduled for February 25, 1996. Because Jackson had multiple rape convictions, state officials began considering him for confinement under the SVPA. The state Board of Prison Terms (BPT), perhaps…