Lawyers Want Supreme Court To Take Minnesota Sex Offenders Case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Lawyers for sex offenders confined indefinitely to Minnesota's secure treatment program have asked a judge to stay all further proceedings while they ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appeals court finding that the program is constitutional.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank declared the program unconstitutional after phase one of the case in 2015 because only a handful of offenders had ever won provisional releases. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed him in January.

In a brief Friday, lawyers in the class-action lawsuit on behalf more than 700 offenders said they will ask the high court to review the case. And they say it's not practical to proceed with the second phase, which would deal with remedies, until there's a final resolution of the disputed legal questions.