"Achieving civil confinement in New York State took 13 years of hard work by members of law enforcement, advocacy groups and our Assembly Minority Conference in overcoming countless political, legal and procedural roadblocks set up by the Assembly Majority. Now it appears we have yet another obstacle to overcome. Regrettably, in the blink of an eye, a federal judge has weakened over a decade of our work and potentially moved New York backward. If this decision waters down New York's civil confinement law, it has the potential to be an incredibly harmful ruling. Had Governor Spitzer adopted our Conference's definition of a 'sexually violent predator' and our proposed higher standard of proof in determining whether an offender should be civilly committed, we might have avoided this. Fortunately, by adopting our Conference's original legislation, the Governor can quickly rectify this situation. Just like we led the fight to get civil confinement on the books in New York State, our Conference will again take the lead on this matter, actively exploring any and all legislative remedies at its disposal."