ST. PAUL  — Gov. Mark Dayton said Wednesday he will attend a federal court hearing over possible changes to Minnesota’s embattled sex offender program, even if it means postponing a trade mission to Mexico.

A judge ruled last week that the state’s secure civil confinement program for more than 700 offenders is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank summoned Dayton and other state leaders to his courtroom on Aug. 10 to begin fashioning a remedy.

Dayton said he is seeking to have the hearing date moved but he will attend rather than go on the trade trip if the two overlap. The Democratic governor said he believes the program is constitutional. He also favors an appeal of the ruling if one is allowed at this stage, which is uncertain because Frank has not issued a final order.

The sex offender program involves people who are indefinitely detained in a medical setting behind razor wire in St. Peter or Moose Lake once their prison sentences are complete. Frank hasn’t ordered any offenders be released at this stage, but said in his ruling that such an action remains a possibility.

Dayton has recommended changes to the program during recent legislative sessions, including a funding request this year to start building facilities with fewer patient restrictions as offenders move into the later stages of treatment. None of those proposals have survived.

For now, Dayton said he is not inclined to call a special session to address the issue, but he doesn’t think lawmakers will be able to put off tough changes for long.

“In terms of galvanizing the Legislature into some action, it’s going to be expensive, it’s going to be unpopular and, from my standpoint, undesirable,” Dayton said.