Allen v. Colorado

This case arose from Petitioner Brandon Allen's designation as a sexually violent predator (SVP). The court of appeals affirmed the trial court's SVP designation and held that the trial court could designate an offender as an SVP even if the offender was deemed unlikely to recidivate based on his low score on the Sex Offender Management Board's risk assessment screening instrument. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court makes the ultimate SVP designation, but should give substantial deference to the scored Screening Instrument. A trial court that deviates from the results of the scored Screening Instrument must make specific findings on the record to demonstrate the necessity of the deviation. View "Allen v. Colorado" on Justia Law