Lawsuit On Sex Offender Program To Be Bench Trial

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) —The constitutionality of Minnesota's sex offender treatment program will be determined by a federal judge, not a jury, under a ruling issued Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank denied the state's request for a jury trial and said he'll make the decisions in the first phase of the case, which will focus on whether the state's law on civil commitments of sex offenders is constitutional. The bench trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 9.

However, Frank said, claims raised for monetary damages by individuals committed to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program would be settled by a jury later in a second phase of the case.

The class-action lawsuit on behalf of nearly 700 residents of the program alleges that it's unconstitutional because it keeps them locked up indefinitely in high-security facilities in Moose Lake or St. Peter after they finish their prison sentences with no realistic hope for release and without providing adequate treatment

Only one patient has been successfully given a conditional release from the program since 1994. A court-appointed panel of experts conducting a broad evaluation of the program has identified at least two residents who might qualify for release or transfers to less-restrictive settings. Frank has asked the experts to deliver their final report by mid-November.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)