[papers.ssrn.com] Abstract More is not always better. Consider sex offender registration laws. Initially anchored by rational basis, registration schemes have spiraled out of control because legislators, eager to please a fearful public, have been given unfettered freedom by a deferential judiciary. This particular article does not challenge the state’s legislative power to enact sex offender registration laws. Instead, this piece posits that, even if sex offender registration schemes were initially constitutional, serially amended sex offender registration schemes – what this piece dubs super-registration schemes – are not. Their emergence over…
Read MoreDay: February 14, 2018
Reason and the Soho Forum Want to Know, Do We Abolish the Registry?
[UPDATED links 2/21/18] [sexlawandpolicy.org] Dr. Emily Horowitz, noted sex offense policy researcher, and Marci Hamilton, child safety advocate, went toe-to-toe in an engaging debate Monday night, which may be a first of its kind on the need for sex offender registries. On the resolution for whether the laws requiring those convicted of sex offenses to put their names in a registry should be abolished, Dr. Emily Horowitz argued the affirmative and Ms. Marci Hamilton the negative. Even though Dr. Horowitz crafted a well-reasoned argument against the use of sex offender…
Read MorePA: Sex offender resigns as fire chief in Pennsylvania town
[startribune.com] SPARTANSBURG, Pa. — A registered sex offender who was recently re-elected as chief of a Pennsylvania town’s volunteer fire department has resigned. The (Corry) Journal reports that Roger Gilbert Jr. quit the Spartansburg department Sunday, a day after the newspaper reported on his criminal background. Gilbert tells the Journal that he will “no longer be affiliated with any organization that helps anyone.” He was in his second stint as chief after being elected by fellow firefighters. Read more
Read MoreN. Ireland: Self-styled ‘paedophile hunters’ revealed
[bbc.com – UPDATED LINKS 2/15/18] Some of the leaders of self-styled paedophile-hunting groups operating in Northern Ireland have been identified for the first time. There are increasing concerns about the methods many of the groups use, and their lack of accountability. The so-called paedophile-hunting groups target people online who they believe are sexual predators. They confront them and broadcast the encounter live on the internet, then call the police. There have been more than 100 incidents of that nature reported to police in Northern Ireland, but no-one has been charged…
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