A Q&A on Megan’s Law: Should it apply to child offenders?
Dr. Elizabeth J. Letourneau did the first study looking at the consequences of Megan’s Law on juveniles. She found that kids rarely commit a second offense, and that the people…
AL: SPLC sues Alabama officials for overly severe sex-offender law that punishes children for life
____ ____ met ____ ____ when their mutual friends introduced them at a local skating rink. He was 14 and she was 12. Over time, the two became a young…
NJ: He was labeled a sex offender as a teen. Now he is challenging the law that made him register as one.
At a glance, the 23-year-old has a stellar resume. He graduated magna cum laude from Binghamton University, where he was a part of an Honors Academic Society and routinely on…
Janice’s Journal: Court Decision an Important Point on Path to Tipping Point
Another court has spoken the truth: registration is punishment. That court is Division III of the Colorado Court of Appeals. The case is People v. In the Interest of T.B.…
CO: Colorado Sex-Offender Registry Takes Another Brutal Hit
Colorado's sex-offender registry, already under legal siege, just took another hit. On June 20, the Colorado Court of Appeals determined that the lifetime registration requirement for Coloradans found guilty of…
Remove Children from Sex-Offender Registries
There are good reasons to reconsider some aspects of the 1994 Crime Bill, because we’ve had a chance to see the unintended consequences. One feature of the 1994 law that…
NCJFCJ Releases Resolution for Sex Offender Requirements for Youth Under Age 18
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) released its latest resolution regarding sex offender requirements for youth under the age of 18. Research shows that placing youth on sex offender registries…
IL: Court tosses lawsuit in sex-video suicide case
A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed a lawsuit brought against a suburban Chicago school by parents of a student who killed himself after staff warned him he may have…
OR: Living with a label
For most youth, childhood is a seemingly innocent and simple time, typically full of school work, play time and life lessons. But when a child becomes a registered sex offender…
When stealing LEGOs adds to a lifetime of consequences
A petition argues that people seeking to escape the sex offender registry, including those put on it as children, deserve more than a single shot. Full Article
NE: Federal judge pulls stay that kept juveniles off sex offender registry
A federal judge Monday lifted the stay he issued last month that had kept the Nebraska State Patrol from putting juveniles on its sex offender registry if they weren't tried…
NE: Judge – Keep juvenile sex offenders off registry
A federal judge has told Nebraska to keep juvenile sex offenders off the state sex offender registry if they weren't tried as adults — at least for now. The Lincoln…
IA: Supreme Court – registration for juvenile sex offenders is punishment
The boy's lawyers argued that the fact that registration as a sex offender was mandatory constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The court's majority opinion written by Chief Justice Mark Cady…
NJ: Science and Law Evolve Together, Sex Offender Registry Case Reminds Us
This is how law and social science are meant to intersect. The case reminds us that, as our knowledge of human behavior evolves, our approach to legal issues will evolve…
WI: Supreme Court rules sex offender can be tried as adult for crime committed at age 9
A convicted sex offender in Wisconsin seemed to believe he was off the hook when police learned that he allegedly committed a sexual assault at the age of 9. Full…
NJ: After state Supreme Court ruling, few sex offenders likely get reprieve from Megan’s Law
A New Jersey Supreme Court ruling exempting certain sex offenders from Megan's Law registration requirements isn't likely to apply to more than a few dozen people, state officials said Wednesday,…
OH: Convicted ex-high school athlete wants off sex offender list
[fox19.com 4/16/18] By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A judge is deciding whether a man convicted as a juvenile of raping a 16-year-old girl should be removed…
There Are Too Many Kids on the Sex Offender Registry
Both the boys admit they did it. Horsing around, two New Jersey 14-year-olds pulled down their pants and sat on the faces of two 12-year-old boys. As one of them…