1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,320 Speaker 1: Well, now it's time for our daily Bloomberg Law Brief, 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,520 Speaker 1: exploring legal issues in the news and Today Bloomberg Law Hoo, 3 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: student Grosso and Greg Sture discuss a legal challenge to 4 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 1: Minnesota's sex offender law. They speak with Dan Gustufson, founding 5 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: partner at Gustufson Luke, and Eric Jennis, a professor at 6 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: Mitchell Hamlene's School of Law. Eric, let me start with you. 7 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: Can you just put the Minnesota law in some context 8 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: for us? How does what the state does after a 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: sentence has has run its course? How does that compare 10 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,480 Speaker 1: to what happens elsewhere around the country. Sure, yeah, Um, 11 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: so these are known as sexually violent predator laws. Uh. 12 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: Number of them were past beginning in the nineties nineties. 13 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: They're quite distinct in that they allow people to be 14 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: locked up for indefinite periods of time after they've served 15 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: their criminal sentence. Currently, they're about twenty states UM and 16 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: the federal government to have laws like this. The Minnesota 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: program um is similar on the books to these other laws, 18 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: but in operation it's always it's been quite an outlier. 19 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: Dan explain the Eighth Circuits decision finding that the program 20 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: is constitutional. Uh, there's really two parts to the A 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: Circuit's decision um that that form the basis of it. 22 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: First of all, they set a very low standard for 23 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: the state in terms of enacting this statute. Um. Normally, 24 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: statutes that involve the deprivation of individual liberty would be 25 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: subject to a strict scrutiny standard, which the District Court did, 26 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: but the A Circuit said, no, the state only has 27 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: to show a rational basis for enacting these laws. And 28 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: so that's the lowest standard of protection with respect of 29 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: the due process laws, much the same that they applied 30 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: to things like laws that regulate zoning and laws that 31 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: regulate taxation, things like that. So they set a very 32 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: low bar for the state. And then on the other 33 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: side of the equation, they set a very high standard 34 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: for people who challenge the due prod sess protection, saying 35 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: that you have to show that the statute is operated 36 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: in a way that demonstrates malice or sadistic intent on 37 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: behalf of the state, and that it's so egregious that 38 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: it shocks the conscience. And that's a standard that you know, 39 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: you can almost never meet that standard. And so they 40 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: set a very low bar for the state, very high 41 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: bar for the people who are committed, and it's always 42 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: been our view in the district court decision was that 43 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: it should be the other way around. When you take 44 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: people's liberty away uh involuntarily, that you should set a 45 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 1: very high bar for the state because the state is 46 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: acting under its governmental authority. That's Dan Gustufson, founding partner 47 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: at Gustufson Luke and Eric jan As, a professor at 48 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,239 Speaker 1: Mitchell Hamline School of Law, speaking with Bloomberg Law hosts 49 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: June Grosso and Greg Sture. You can listen to Bloomberg 50 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: Law weekdays at one pm Wall Street Time here on 51 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Radio. And among the top stories from Bloomberg Law, 52 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: activists are suing Coca Cola, comparing its advertising tactics to 53 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: those of the tobacco industry, and on a practice project 54 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: wants to stop Coke and the American Beverage Association from 55 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: deceptive advertising of sugary drinks to consumers, especially to children. 56 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: Coke calls the lawsuit meritlist. 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