9. Doe v. Poritz and Megan’s Law (1995): The Subtle Art of Judicial Deference to the Legislature

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-194
Keyword(s):  
Megan's Law

scholarly journals The War on Sex Offenders: Community Notification in Perspective

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn Hinds ◽  
Kathleen Daly
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Notification ◽  
Megan's Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Campaign ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Naming And Shaming

This article explores the contemporary phenomenon of “naming and shaming” sex offenders. Community notification laws, popularly known as Megan's Law, which authorise the public disclosure of the identity of convicted sex offenders to the community in which they live, were enacted throughout the United States in the 1990s. A public campaign to introduce “Sarah's Law” has recently been launched in Britain, following the death of eight-year old Sarah Payne. Why are sex offenders, and certain categories of sex offenders, singled out as targets of community notification laws? What explains historical variability in the form that sex offender laws take? We address these questions by reviewing the sexual psychopath laws enacted in the United States in the 1930s and 40s and the sexual predator and community notification laws of the 1990s, comparing recent developments in the United States with those in Britain, Canada, and Australia. We consider arguments by Garland, O'Malley, Pratt, and others on how community notification, and the control of sex offenders more generally, can be explained; and we speculate on the likelihood that Australia will adopt community notification laws.

scholarly journals Megan's Law: Crime and Democracy in Late Modern America

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 1111-1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Simon
Keyword(s):  
American Revolution ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
First Century ◽  
Megan's Law ◽  
Crime Victim ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
New Form ◽  
American Society ◽  
Late Modern

To an unprecedented degree American society at the turn of the twentieth century is governed through crime. Nearly three percent of adults are in the custody of the correctional system. Crime and fear of crime enter into a large part of the fundamental decisions in life: where to live, how to raise your family, where to locate your business, where and when to shop, and so on. The crime victim has become the veritable outline of a new form of political subjectivity. This essay explores the complex entanglements of democracy and governing through crime. The effort to build democratic governance after the American Revolution was carried out in part through the problem of crime and punishment. Today, however, the enormous expansion of governing through crime endangers the effort to reinvent democracy for the twenty-first century.

Megan’s Law 20 Years Later: An Empirical Analysis and Policy Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1028-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen M. Zgoba ◽  
Wesley G. Jennings ◽  
Laura M. Salerno
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
Risk Group ◽  
High Risk Group ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Megan's Law ◽  
Multivariate Logistic Regression ◽  
Recidivism Rates ◽  
Before And After ◽  
General Recidivism

This present study examines the sexual and general recidivism rates of 547 convicted sex offenders released before and after the enactment of Megan’s Law in New Jersey. Presenting the longest Megan’s Law evaluation, participants were followed for an average of 15 years after release (range = 10-29 years). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression equations were estimated to identify covariates significantly associated with both sexual and general recidivism. Group-based trajectories of general recidivism within the 10 years post–prison release were also estimated and compared according to pre–Megan’s Law and post–Megan’s Law release status. No differences in recidivism rates were noted between the cohorts, but differences emerged in the offending trajectories of the high-risk group of offenders within 10 years of release. These results highlight the lack of impact that sex offender registration and notification (SORN) laws have on sexual and general reoffending rates postrelease.

Assessing the Practical and Monetary Efficacy of New Jersey's Megan's Law, 1972-2007

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Zgoba ◽  
Philip Witt ◽  
Melissa Dalessandro ◽  
Bonita Veysey
Keyword(s):  
Megan's Law

“This Individual May or May Not Be on the Megan’s Law Registry”

2020 ◽  
pp. 235-256
Author(s):  
Jamie J. Fader ◽  
Abigail R. Henson
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sex Offender ◽  
The State ◽  
Compulsory Treatment ◽  
Child Molester ◽  
Megan's Law ◽  
Key Features

To examine the unique experiences of reentry for those with a sex offender label, this chapter presents an in-depth case study of “Tony,” who pled guilty to statutory sexual assault at age nineteen. It follows his twelve-year path through the system, highlighting its key features, most notably that the state parole agency did not distinguish between registered and non-registered parolees. Tony was effectively labeled a child molester and subject to draconian restrictions upon where he could live and work; who he could associate with; and what technology he could possess. This has led to a cycle of parole revocations and reincarcerations that may have embedded him permanently in the system. His experiences with parole conditions including compulsory treatment, housing, employment, and social support are reviewed. Implications for the overbroad application of sex offender restrictions are discussed.

Making Meaning of Megan's Law

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Corrigan
Keyword(s):  
Megan's Law ◽  
Making Meaning

Megan's Law: Constitutionality and policy

1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Megan's Law

Failure to Register as a Predictor of Sex Offense Recidivism

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen M. Zgoba ◽  
Jill Levenson
Keyword(s):  
Sex Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Megan's Law ◽  
Similar Time ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Registered Sex Offenders ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Sex Offense

This quasi-experimental study analyzed the recidivism outcomes of 1,125 sexual offenders in two groups. The first group comprised 644 registered sex offenders who were convicted of a sex crime and at some point failed to register after release from prison. The comparison group contained 481 registered sex offenders released from prison during a similar time frame who did not fail to register after their release. The groups were then tracked for both sexual and nonsexual offenses to determine whether failure to register under Megan’s Law is predictive of reoffending. Failure to register was not a significant predictor of sexual recidivism, casting doubt on the belief that sex offenders who are noncompliant with registration are especially sexually dangerous. Few differences between groups were detected, but FTR offenders were more likely to have sexually assaulted a stranger and to have adult female victims, further challenging the stereotype of the child predator who absconds to evade detection. Potential policy implications are discussed.

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