Ex-Supreme Court Chief Given Key Role In Sex Offender Case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson has been given a prominent role in a federal court case determining potential changes to the state's sex offender treatment program.

Magnuson was appointed Thursday as a special master in the ongoing court case. He was given the role by U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank, who has ruled Minnesota's indefinite confinement of dangerous sex offenders in secure treatment facilities to be unconstitutional.

Magnuson has knowledge about this issue: He previously chaired an advisory task force that recommended major changes to the program. Frank's order says Magnuson will work at no cost to the court or the parties involved.

State leaders have been asked to attend a hearing next month to begin sketching out a possible rework of the civil commitment program.