Tuesday, May 29, 2012  Sex offender in civil confinement cannot
sue over seized CD's and magazines  The Second Circuit for the
first time outlines the legal standards governing the rights of
sex offenders in civil confinement whose mail and other personal
media items are reviewed to ensure they do not contain
inappropriate material.  The case is Ahlers v. Rabinowitz,
decided on April 6. After plaintiff was released from prison, he
was sent to a civil confinement. The government can do this
because plaintiff was a sex offender. While in civil
confinement, officials there seized plaintiff's DVD's and CD's
and also reviewed his mail, holding onto some of it. He sues
under the Fourth Amendment, alleging that these seizures were
unreasonable.  The Court of Appeals says that plaintiff cannot
state a claim. The Second Circuit (Jacobs, Wesley and Cabranes)
notes that "To determine the substantive rights of a person
involuntarily committed to a state institution, the interests of
the individual are balanced against th