A Civil confinement law in New York to hold sex offenders in psychiatric treatment or intensive supervision if deemed a threat to society, was signed Wednesday according to this AP story by Michael Gormley. The new law requires a psychiatric evaluation of the offender before release. If a red flag goes up, a jury decides if the offender would re-offend, then a judge decides if they should undergo treatment or supervision.

Skid Row Crackdown: The Washington Post has an article by Sonya Geis on the recent police crackdowns in Los Angeles's Skid Row. The "broken windows" approach adopted by the LAPD, which targets petty crimes such as public urination and jaywalking to discourage violent crimes, is clearly working but has received mixed reviews. While police are finding reductions in the crime rate, others such as Mike Cassanova, executive director of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles says the crack down is "doing nothing but cutting off access to services."

The Supreme Court is the topic of two recent books reviewed in today's Opinion Journal by Northwestern Law Professor John O. McGinnis. Jan Crawford Greenburg's "Supreme Conflict" and Benjamin Wittes's "Confirmation Wars" provide a view of the Court and the modern confirmation process of justices which McGinnis finds more balanced and accurate than other recent books on these subjects.