Martin v. Reinstein

In Martin v. Reinstein, 195 Ariz. 293, 309,49, 987 P.2d 779, 795 (App. 1999), the Court rejected an argument that the Sexually Violent Persons Act was too narrowly drawn because it did not apply to all sexually violent persons. Id. at 312,59, 61, 987 P.2d at 798. The Act permitted the state to confine persons found guilty of violent sexual acts, or persons charged with committing such crimes but found incompetent to stand trial, only if the person suffered from a mental disorder that made them more likely to engage in sexual acts. Id. at 299,2, 987 P.2d at 785. Petitioners argued that the statute did not cover persons serving long terms in prison, those already released from prison, or those persons whom the state chose not to prosecute. Id. at 312,59, 987 P.2d at 798. The Court noted that such an "all or nothing" argument had been rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Id. at 60-61. The Court concluded that merely because "the Act does not extend to every person who might be a sexually violent person does not remove every rational basis for its existence." Martin, 195 Ariz. at 312,61, 987 P.2d at 798.