A sex offender who waives his right to counsel at a civil confinement hearing must do so in a way that is “unequivocal, voluntary and intelligent,” a unanimous appellate court has upheld in establishing a new standard for proceedings brought under the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act (SOMTA).
The Appellate Division, Second Department, said that while a sex offender hearing is civil rather than criminal, and that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not apply, the liberty interest is so great that judges must use a high standard before allowing a respondent to waive his or her statutory right to an attorney.
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