In re Commitment of Simons

• Decision Date: 16 December 2004
• Docket Number: No. 97026.,97026.
• Citation: 290 Ill.Dec. 610,213 Ill.2d 523,821 N.E.2d 1184
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court
• Parties: In re COMMITMENT OF Stephen E. SIMONS (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Stephen E. Simons, Appellee).

821 N.E.2d 1184

213 Ill.2d 523

290 Ill.Dec. 610

In re COMMITMENT OF Stephen E. SIMONS (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Stephen E. Simons, Appellee).

No. 97026.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

December 16, 2004.

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Springfield (Gary Feinerman, Solicitor General, and Linda D. Woloshin, Lionel W. Weaver and Jay Paul Hoffmann, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, of counsel), for the People.

John M. Delaney, Jr., East Alton, for appellee.

Justice THOMAS delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial in the circuit court of Madison County, respondent, Stephen Simons, was found to be a sexually violent person under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act (the Act) (725 ILCS 207/1 et seq. (West 2002)) and committed to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services for control, custody, and treatment. Respondent appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in admitting certain expert testimony without first conducting a Frye hearing. See Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C.Cir.1923). The appellate court agreed, reversed the trial court's judgment, and remanded the cause for further proceedings. No. 5-02-0579 (unpublished under Supreme Court Rule 23). We allowed the State's petition for leave to appeal. 177 Ill.2d R. 315(a).

BACKGROUND

On February 20, 2001, the State filed a petition to have respondent committed to the Department of Health and Human Services as a sexually violent person. The petition alleged that respondent has a history of committing sexually violent offenses, including a 1988 conviction for the aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child under the age of 13 and a 1992 conviction for the aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. In 1996, respondent pleaded guilty to the criminal sexual assault of his 13-year-old stepdaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In exchange for that guilty plea, the State agreed to dismiss two additional charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault that were pending against respondent, one involving a 13-year-old girl and the other involving a 14-year-old girl. The petition further alleged that respondent was scheduled for release from prison on February 21, 2001, and that he suffers from numerous mental disorders, including paraphilia and antisocial personality disorder, that make it substantially probable that he will again engage in acts of sexual violence.

A bench trial commenced, and respondent filed a motion in limine as to the State's two expert witnesses, Dr. Jacqueline N. Buck and Dr. Paul J. Heaton. Dr. Buck and Dr. Heaton are clinical psychologists who evaluated respondent and were prepared to testify that respondent is a sexually violent person as defined by the Act. In support of his motion, respondent argued that, in preparing their opinions, Dr. Buck and Dr. Heaton relied upon certain actuarial risk assessment instruments, including the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool — Revised (MnSOST-R), the Static-99, the Violent Risk Assessment Guide (VRAG), and the Sex Offender Risk Assessment Guide (SORAG). According to respondent, actuarial risk assessment is a novel scientific methodology that has yet to gain general acceptance in the psychological and psychiatric communities. Accordingly, respondent argued, any expert testimony based upon actuarial risk assessment must be excluded under Frye. In response, the State argued that (1) actuarial principles are not the least bit novel and therefore are not subject to Frye; and (2) even if the particular actuarial instruments at issue are novel, they have gained general acceptance in the relevant psychological and psychiatric communities. The trial court agreed with the State, denied respondent's motion, and allowed Dr. Buck and Dr. Heaton to testify.

Dr. Buck testified that she is a licensed clinical psychologist employed by the special evaluation unit of the Illinois Department of Corrections (Department). In this capacity, Dr. Buck was assigned to evaluate respondent and determine whether he would be eligible for civil commitment under the Act following his release from prison. Dr. Buck's evaluation began with a review of the master file for each of respondent's several convictions. The master file includes all of the records relating to the particular conviction, including police reports, criminal court records, Department records, and any psychological or psychiatric evaluations. After reviewing the master files, Dr. Buck met with the three other psychologists employed by the Department's special evaluations unit to discuss respondent's case. All four psychologists agreed that respondent appeared to fit the criteria for civil commitment and that a face-to-face interview should be conducted. Dr. Buck interviewed respondent for 90 minutes at the Big Muddy River Correctional Center. Based upon both the interview and her review of respondent's files, Dr. Buck concluded that respondent suffers from paraphilia, alcohol abuse in a controlled environment, and antisocial personality disorder with narcissistic tendencies. According to Dr. Buck, these mental disorders "affect a person's emotional and volitional capacity and predispose that person to engage in acts of sexual violence."

Dr. Buck's evaluation also included an assessment of respondent's probability of reoffending. She first used a personality test called the Hare Psychopathy Checklist — Revised. According to Dr. Buck, respondent scored a 32 on this test, placing him in a category of persons who are two to four times more likely to reoffend with acts of violence.

Dr. Buck then used a number of actuarial risk assessment instruments, including the MnSOST-R, the Static-99, the VRAG, the SORAG, and the Hanson and Bussiere meta-analysis. The MnSOST-R was developed using a group of 256 sex offenders who were followed for six years after their release from the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Dr. Buck gave respondent a score 13 on the MnSOST-R, which places him in the category of offenders having an 88% chance of reoffending within six years. The Static-99 is based upon a study of thousands of sex offenders from England, Canada, and the United States. According to Dr. Buck, the creators of the Static-99 regard a score of six or higher as being "a very high risk." Dr. Buck gave respondent a score of seven, which places him "in the top twelve percent of persons who were scored on this tool and who sexually reoffended." The VRAG is an instrument designed to predict violent reoffenders, as opposed to sexual reoffenders. On the VRAG, Dr. Buck gave respondent a score of 20, which places him in the category of offenders having a 55% chance of reoffending within 7 years and a 64% chance of reoffending within 10 years. On the SORAG, which examines the risk of sexual recidivism, Dr. Buck gave respondent a score of 30, "which placed him at the 98th percentile in terms of risk to reoffend." The Hanson and Bussiere meta-analysis was derived from a review of 51 published studies, which collectively covered approximately 28,000 convicted and released sex offenders. The study evaluated more than 100 variables and identified those that are statistically significant in terms of distinguishing offenders who are likely to sexually reoffend from offenders who are unlikely to sexually reoffend. According to Dr. Buck, respondent "has a number of risk factors that stem from the study."

Dr. Buck concluded her testimony with the opinion that, if respondent is released to the community, it is substantially probable that he will reoffend with additional acts of sexual violence.

Dr. Heaton testified that he is a clinical psychologist employed by Affiliated Psychologists, Ltd., in Chicago, which has contracted with the Illinois Department of Human Services to provide psychological assessments in connection with the Act. Dr. Heaton begins each assessment with a review of all available documents, including the master file, medical records, school records, and psychological evaluations. He then administers a battery of psychological tests, which is followed by a comprehensive clinical interview. Finally, after compiling all of the collected information, as well as any available actuarial data, Dr. Heaton writes his evaluation.

Following his interview with and testing of respondent, Dr. Heaton diagnosed respondent with paraphilia, alcohol abuse, and antisocial personality disorder, all of which affect a person's emotional and volitional capacity and predispose that person to commit acts of sexual violence. Dr. Heaton then employed several actuarial instruments to assess respondent's probability of reoffending. The Hanson and Bussiere meta-analysis identified several risk factors that reinforced his clinical impressions. On the Static-99, Dr. Heaton testified that, although Dr. Buck scored respondent "a little bit higher" than he did, Dr. Heaton's score likewise placed respondent "in the category of individuals who were found to have a high risk of reoffense." On the MnSOST-R, Dr. Heaton gave respondent a score of 13, which placed respondent "in the range representing a high risk for reoffense." Based upon both his clinical evaluation of respondent and the actuarial data, Dr. Heaton concluded that respondent suffers from mental disorders that predispose him to act in sexually violent ways and that he therefore meets the criteria for commitment under the Act.

At this point, the State rested, and respondent declined to put on any evidence. The trial court found respondent to be a sexually violent person under the Act and committed him to the Department of Health and Human Services for care and treatment in a secured facility.

Respondent appealed, in part arguing that the trial court erred in admitting the testimony of Dr. Buck and Dr. Heaton without first conducting a Frye hearing. Relying upon the appellate court's decision in People v. Taylor, 335 Ill.App.3d 965, 270...