McKune v. Lile

Although Robert Lile (plaintiff) insisted that his sexual acts with an alleged victim were consensual, a jury convicted him of rape, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated kidnapping. A few years before his anticipated release from prison, Lile was ordered to participate in a Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (SATP) designed to rehabilitate sex offenders. Program participants were required to complete (1) an admission-of-responsibility form accepting responsibility for the crime for which they were sentenced and (2) a sexual-history form detailing all prior sexual acts, even if the acts constituted uncharged criminal offenses. The information obtained was not privileged and could possibly be used against participants in future criminal proceedings. If Lile opted not to participate in the SATP, his privilege status would be lowered, reducing his visitation rights, earnings, work opportunities, and more. Lile would also be transferred from a two-person cell in a medium-security facility to a four-person cell in a maximum-security facility. Lile refused to participate in the SATP on the ground that the required disclosures would violate his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Lile sued prison warden McKune and the Kansas Department of Corrections (defendants), seeking an injunction that prevented imposition of the consequences. He argued that the consequences were unconstitutional because they effectively compelled self-incrimination. The district court granted summary judgment in Lile’s favor, and the court of appeals affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.