Canada: Edmonton judge rules national sex offender registry is unconstitutional

An Edmonton judge has ruled that the national sex offender registry is unconstitutional as it is “over broad and grossly disproportionate” and violates people of their charter rights.

In a recently released decision involving the case of an Edmonton man convicted of two sexual assaults, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Andrea Moen found the Sex Offender Information Registration Act removed judicial discretion to refuse to place offenders who present no risk of reoffending on the registry. Full Article

Related

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/an-edmonton-judge-ruled-the-sex-offender-registry-list-is-unconstitutional

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Now there’s a judge with courage and who understands the implications of someone being on the list.

This judge is a breath of fresh air. Common sense and logic seem to be in short supply here in the USA, (see Judge Hamilton). Her points for her ruling make perfect sense.

its time…..wake up civil rights leaders and take down the registry at the very least for first time non-violent offenders and decades old offenders and the public notification provisions for everyone….if they are so dangerous that you have to notify the public then you need to change the laws on sentencing…bottom line….

Wow…now if we could only get a judge here to make such a decision! Congrats Canada, you have a judge that has declared what we’ve all known down here for years but have no judge with the balls to make such a decision!

Just to be clear, the Canadian sex offender registry already significantly differs from its American version. The main difference, of course is that the registry is not readily available on the Internet. In addition, most registrants are not even public knowledge, so you can’t look them up on a CD, like America once required citizens to do before the Internet. Finally, because there is no public registry, the myriad of subsequent laws, such as residency restrictions, lack of employment or educational opportunities, and felony penalties for non-registration are non-existent.

So the ruling is significant in itself because it restricts the state from registering individuals even with all the other aspects of the registry already non-existent.

If Canada’s registry is unconstitutional, then how will their courts view the United States’ registry should American ex offenders apply for asylum?

They get it in Canada! There must not be any Price Clubs up there.

Its just another affirmation of the lawlessness our nation our politicians display. It should be fairly obvious to everyone in the u.s. and the world our nation is lost. It uses the most unsupportable facts and justifications to deny it’s own citizens their rights, and permits fear to render the constitution meaningless.

How can any other country in the world continue to listen to the U.S? The reason is money! That’s why nations like Russia and China are beginning to establish policies to demonstrate the lack of fundamental rights in this country, and it’s working. Just watching our television shows the thirst for violence and a total lack of concern for people. It’s disgusting.

I may have lost my way temporarily, but this country is permanently damaged. There is no acceptable form of behavior left in this country except total isolation from one another. A sad but true reality. Joke about someone here and they want to murder you, but it’s fine to take total and complete control over someone’s life and future?

I would like to be able to say this a fad, but seriously, it’s not? There has been a reckoning in the brewing for a long time in this racist, greedy, corrupt country. Your not American in this country, your white American, black American, brown American, etc. Your not American, your rich American, poor American, convicted American. Labels, labels, labels, and a comment on Facebook can cause you to commit suicide because your life is over. This disgusting country deserves all of the pain it gets. It is full of hateful, shallow, weak, ignorant people.

I hope this Halloween day is brutal, I hope their are plenty of stories about tragedies. I will be laughing and loving it, the same way you feel about me. Happy Halloween, hope you have a heart attack because you think someone is stalking you.

hey Rick I’m not trying to criticize you or attack you on a personal level and it’s not really my place to tell others how they should feel I just want to remind everyone not to let the inhumane monsters and traitors in this country change our core values or our humanity and empathy for people who deserve it….it’s true most of the country doesn’t deserve to be treated with humanity but I believe we should maintain ours…it’s easy to hate but a little more difficult to show humanity..

I’m wondering if this decision will eventually affect the entire country of Canada, and if so, will it mean an end to the law that bans registered citizens of the U.S. from visiting…

Perhaps depending on each case, being individual, the circumstances etc, but I do not at all agree, that all first time offences should avoid the sex offenders list. A violent rape of a young person, especially a child, needs to be dealt with. There has to be a consequence and once sentenced is not enough as they usually get out on day parole, full parole or what have you. Anyone, I don’t care what your age, if you violently rape a youngster, you lose that right and you need to be on the offenders list for others to be cautioned. The victim suffers enough from the crime itself let alone the very justice system that is to protect them, only to fail the victim resulting in being victimized over and over again. Our justice system is flawed. It’s up to the Judge to issue a proper sentence, and each case is different. It should not mean all first time offenders do not go on the offenders list. OMG, then you have this crime that seriously, has gotten out of hand in the first place. The victim or child victim gets a life sentence from this brutal crime, why should the offender not get something to think about, and prevent them from doing it again! You harm someone, especially a child or teen, you lose the right…