Sex Offender Treatment in Prisons and the Self-Incrimination Privilege: How Should Courts Approach Obligatory, Un-Immunized Admissions of Guilt and the Risk of Longer Incarceration?

Authors

Daniel R. Strecker

Document Type

Note

Abstract

(Excerpt)

Part I of this Note discusses the historical background of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and its contemporary meaning in American case law. Part II examines different approaches to the question of whether the sex offender treatment programs discussed here violate that privilege. Finally, Part III advances theories for determining the constitutionality of these programs, evaluates their merits, and ultimately argues that the McKune plurality's use of the "atypical and significant hardship" standard is the most functional and durable approach that any court has offered to resolve this troubling, muddled, and constitutionally multifaceted question.