Hayes v. State

The state filed a petition seeking the involuntary commitment of appellant to the custody of the Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) as a sexually violent predator under the Jimmy Ryce Act. A jury found appellant to be a sexually violent predator, and the trial court committed him to the custody of DCF “until such time as the Respondent’s mental abnormality or personality disorder has so changed that it is safe for the Respondent to be at large.” Appellant appeals this commitment.

Appellant presents three issues in this case: (1) whether the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s…