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Sex Offender Registries: Common Sense or Nonsense?
by Christopher Zoukis
In October 1989, 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped at gunpoint and never seen again.
When the boy’s mother, Patty Wetterling, learned that her home state of Minnesota did not have a database of possible suspects—notably convicted sex offenders—she set out to make a change.
Wetterling’s efforts led ...
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More from this issue:
- Study: Unionized Police? Increased Misconduct, by Derek Gilna
- ‘Serious Bodily Harm’ Does Not Include Animals, Massachusetts Supreme Court Holds, by Dale Chappell
- Georgia Supreme Court Vacates Convictions and Sentences Due to Merger Errors, by Matthew Clarke
- Rhode Island High Court Abolishes Shatney in Initial Application for Postconviction Relief by Prisoners Serving Life Without Parole, by Matthew Clarke
- North Dakota Supreme Court Announces Interpretation of Restitution Statutes, by Christopher Zoukis
- Fifth Circuit: 96-Day Pretrial Detention Without Appearance Before Judge or Chance to Post Bail Violates Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Rights, by Matthew Clarke
- Fifth Circuit Holds Prisoner May Sign and Deliver Habeas-Related Motion on Behalf of Fellow Prisoner Under Prison Mailbox Rule, by Dale Chappell
- Federal Judge Excludes Evidence After FBI Lies on Search Warrant Affidavit, Geek Squad on FBI payroll, by Matthew Clarke
- ‘Black Identity Extremists’ Added to FBI List of Domestic Terrorists, by Christopher Zoukis
- The G-Men are Coming: Local Cops Partner with Federal Authorities to Deport Undocumented Immigrants, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Supreme Court: Death Penalty Case Involving Racist Juror Requires Further Consideration, by Christopher Zoukis
- Ohio Supreme Court Holds State Cannot Prove ‘Bulk Amount’ of Fentanyl Under Statute, by Dale Chappell
- Colorado Supreme Court: Conviction of Drunk Motorist for Attempted Reckless Manslaughter and Attempted Second Degree Assault Requires Risk to Discernable Person, Not Merely Public At-Large, by Christopher Zoukis
- U.S. Supreme Court Resolves Split Among Circuit Courts of Appeals on Tax Code § 7212(a), by Richard Resch
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Drug Smuggling Conviction for Improper Exclusion of Evidence of Third-Party Culpability, by Christopher Zoukis
- Arizona Supreme Court: Trial Court Must Tell Jury Defendant Ineligible for Parole in Death Penalty Phase, by Dale Chappell
- Iowa Supreme Court Rules District Courts Have Authority to Hear Postconviction Relief Actions Involving Deprivation of Liberty or Property Interest, by David Reutter
- Innocence be Damned: Prosecutors Who Disregard Justice in Push to Win at Any Cost, by Dale Chappell
- Cautionary Tale: Visible Fingertips in Cellphone Pictures Can Get You Arrested, by Steve Horn
- D.C. Circuit Vacates Sentence Because Government Breached Plea Agreement by Providing Defendant’s Confidential Statements to Sentencing Court, by Dale Chappell
- Colorado Supreme Court Limits Bottom End of Aggravated Sentencing Statute for Habitual Sex Offenders, by Christopher Zoukis
- New Report: 60 Percent of Exonerations Stem from Official Misconduct, by Steve Horn
- Washington High Court Issues New Rule Making Immigration Status Inadmissible, by Derek Gilna
- ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Diagnoses Discredited, Convictions Questioned, by Matthew Clarke
- Captured: ‘Golden State Killer’ Wanted for 12 Murders and 50 Rapes Turns Out To Be Former Sacramento-Area Cop, by Derek Gilna
- Louisiana: No Charges for Cops Who Shot Alton Sterling, Despite Body-Cam Evidence, by Monte McCoin
- Coast to Coast, Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Waste Money, Create Havoc, by Sandy Rozek
- ‘Broken Windows’ Policing Results in Police Lying About Unlawful Stops, by Matthew Clarke
- Drug-Induced Homicide Laws Hurt Rather Than Help Opioid Overdose Crisis, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules FBI Admission Microscopic Hair Analysis Wrong 90% of the Time is Newly Discovered Fact Allowing Untimely Post-Conviction Relief Petition, by Christopher Zoukis
- Habeas Hints: Understanding and Satisfying the Strickland Test for IAC, by Kent A. Russell, Tara Hoveland
- Book Review: California Habeas Handbook 2.0 by Kent A. Russell, by Christopher Zoukis
- Victory: Virginia Supreme Court Delivers Blow to Police Use of License Plate Reader Technology to Track Drivers, Surveil Citizens, by The Rutherford Institute
- U.S. Supreme Court Holds Residual Clause Definition of ‘Crime of Violence’ Unconstitutionally Vague Under Due Process Clause, by Dale Chappell
- Vague Criminality and Mass Incarceration: Will Dimaya End the Insanity?, by Leah Litman
- New York Times Investigation Spotlights NYPD Practice of ‘Testilying’, by Derek Gilna
- News in Brief
- Sex Offender Registries: Common Sense or Nonsense?, by Christopher Zoukis
More from Christopher Zoukis:
- The Contraband Wars Prison authorities target books and mail, miss the goods coming through the staff door, July 1, 2021
- Trump v. Biden on Criminal Justice, Oct. 1, 2020
- Coronavirus in Prison: The Cruel Reality, Aug. 1, 2020
- With Lives of Immigrant Detainees at Risk to COVID-19, Federal Judge Forces ICE’s Hand, July 1, 2020
- A Nation on the Brink, June 15, 2020
- Federal Court Slams Michigan Jail for Bungling COVID-19 Pandemic, Demands Names of Vulnerable Prisoners for Release, June 1, 2020
- Silence: The Bureau of Prisons’ Pathetic Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, June 1, 2020
- New York Judge Orders Release of 18 Rikers Island Detainees Due to COVID-19 Risk, June 1, 2020
- Coronavirus: A Nationwide Survey of the Push for Early Release as Pandemic Fears Grow, May 1, 2020
- California Three-Judge Court Denies Emergency Motion to Reduce Prison Population During Pandemic, May 1, 2020
More from these topics:
- Nebraska Supreme Court Announces ‘Working Days’ for Purposes of ‘Temporary Domicile’ SORA Reporting Requirement Means Weekdays, Excluding Legal Holidays, and Reverses Conviction for Failure to Register, March 15, 2025. Sex Offender Registration, Wrongful Conviction.
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Commonwealth Must Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt Offender Knew of SORNA Registration Obligations for Failure to Register Conviction, March 15, 2025. Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Unreasonable Application of Clearly Established Federal Law.
- Washington Prisoner Sues Jail Where Assault Left Him Comatose, DOC Guard Who Then Sexually Abused Him, March 1, 2025. Prisoner-Staff Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Sex Offender Registration, Failure to Protect (General).
- Incompetent Louisiana Sex Offender’s Challenge to Registration Requirements Proceeds, Dec. 15, 2024. Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Sex Offense Registration Act (SORNA).
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024. Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Restrictions, discrimination, Constitutional Challenges/Law.
- Minnesota’s $100 Million-Per-Year Civil Commitment Program Has No “Discernible Impact” on Sex Crimes, Oct. 15, 2024. Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Databases, Civil Commitment.
- California Court of Appeal Announces Crime Defendant ‘Was Convicted’ of, Not Crime ‘Could Have Been Convicted’ of Today, Governs Eligibility for Removal From Sex Offender Registry, Oct. 1, 2024. Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
- Sixth Circuit Strikes Retroactive Application of Parts of Tennessee’s Sweeping Sex Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Law, Oct. 1, 2024. Sex Offender Registration, Retroactivity.
- Louisiana Becomes First State in Nation to Allow Judges to Order Surgical Castration for Sex Offenders, Oct. 1, 2024. Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Surgery, Sex Offender Treatment, Chemical Castration.
- Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled, Aug. 1, 2024. Sex Offender Registration, Civil Commitment, Sex Offender Classification.
