A federal judge in California has found a key part of the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) to be unconstitutional. SORNA makes it a federal crime when a sex offender fails to register and then travels outside their state. People convicted...
sex offenders
Can a state order a new resident onto the sex offender registry?
It’s a relatively common requirement. If you are a registered sex offender in one state and you move to another, the new state will often require you to comply with its registry. However, the state of Indiana went a step further. It required new residents to register...
Does registering and banning people actually prevent crime?
Although we're not from New York City, we can agree that there is probably too much public lewdness and unwanted touching going on in the city's subways. Earlier this month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan to clean up public transit: banning "repeat...
In New Jersey, sex offenders fight for chance to get off registry
In New Jersey as in most states, there is a sex offender registry that was created by a "Megan's Law." These laws were enacted after a 7-year-old girl, Megan Kanka, was raped and murdered by a man who had been convicted twice of sexual assault. The law requires all...
When people with intellectual disabilities commit sex crimes
When Adam N. was arrested for exposing himself to a neighbor, it was hard to understand it as a sex crime. Adam is 32 but functions at the level of a 10-year-old. His mother says that the neighbor was actually abusing Adam and coerced him to expose himself. Adam pled...
Federal lawsuit seeks to halt Wisconsin’s lifetime GPS monitoring
Last September, the then-attorney general announced that people with two or more convictions for sex offenses would be required to wear GPS monitors for life. He ordered 180 people to get fitted for GPS bracelets within 5 days. Those required to enter the lifetime...
Wisconsin man faces charges after trying to buy a car
Sometimes a local newspaper article may make a small crime appear larger than it really is. This is often because the article's primary source is a law enforcement officer, a detective or a press release from the police department. That may be the case with an...