North Dakotans should have the right to attend hearings where a judge decides whether a person is a dangerous sexual predator who should be confined for treatment, a legislator says.

The hearings have been closed since North Dakota established its civil commitment procedure in 1997. Someone who is judged to be sexually dangerous may be locked up indefinitely for counseling. The person does not have to be convicted of a crime.

The law presently treats such hearings as it does other mental health commitment proceedings. Observers are not allowed. Rep. Duane DeKrey, R-Pettibone, said Monday that the public should be able to attend such hearings.

Before someone may be confined, at least two experts must agree he or she is likely to "engage in further acts of sexually predatory conduct," the law says.

People who have been committed are kept in a secure unit at the state psychiatric hospital in Jamestown.

Rep. Lois Delmore, D-Grand Forks, said the bill could help prevent cases like the November 2003 abduction of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, though Delmore said it was not written in response to the case. Sjodin's body was found near Crookston, Minn., last April.

A convicted sex offender, Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., of Crookston, Minn., faces federal charges of kidnapping Sjodin and causing her death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty, and is awaiting a March 2006 trial.

"Sometimes we need to put the past behind us," Delmore said. "At the same time, this will help people later on down the road who are put in that situation."

David Boeck, an attorney for the Protection and Advocacy Project, which represents people with disabilities, said making civil commitment hearings open to the public runs counter to the state's practice of keeping mental health information private.

"This isn't just a law that applies to sexual predators, it applies to alleged sexual predators," he said. "It's just sort of a public curiosity, and I think we need a better reason to do away with privacy."

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said conducting public hearings is consistent with the state's tradition of open government. Jack McDonald, a Bismarck attorney who represents newspapers and broadcasters, agreed.

"Open procedures will be welcomed by the citizens of North Dakota, to give them reassurance that the system is working," McDonald said.

Since North Dakota's civil commitment process was approved by the 1997 Legislature, 22 people have been ordered confined for treatment. One of them is serving a prison sentence and will be confined after it has ended.

Another man, who was ordered confined after his prison term ended, recently killed himself, said Jean Mullen, an assistant attorney general.

The bill is HB1289.