The House will join the governor and attorney general in their challenge to an earlier court decision that declared the Minnesota Sex Offender Program unconstitutional.
The House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee voted Tuesday to retain counsel to prepare and file an amicus brief in support the state’s position defending the legality of the program that houses around 700 civilly committed individuals in facilities located in Moose Lake and St. Peter.
House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers), who chairs the committee, said the action is necessary “so that we, as a Legislature, take proactive steps towards making sure that we state our case that we think the law is constitutional.”
The committee authorized a $20,000 flat fee to retain Kay Hunt with the Minneapolis law firm Lommen Abdo.
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This summer a federal judge upheld a lower court decision and ruled that the MSOP violates the U.S. Constitution by confining offenders indefinitely without giving them access to the courts and other protections of the criminal justice system.
The state is appealing the decision that now moves to the federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Peppin said the amicus brief will need to be filed by Dec. 22.