Megan's law: Constitutionality and policy

Criminal Justice Ethics

Volumn 15, Issue 1, 1996, Pages 56-66

  Brooks, Alexander D ^a  

^a Rutgers University School of Law Newark   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0006161599     PISSN: 0731129X     EISSN: 19375948     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/0731129X.1996.9992006     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. N.J. Pub. L. 1994, C.133.
2. The other six statutes provide that: (1) the murder of a child under fourteen may be punished with the death penalty; (2) life imprisonment may be imposed for sexual assaults on children; (3) a central registry for sex offenders is established; (4) lifetime supervision of compulsive sex offenders is required; (5) DNA testing of convicted sex offenders will take place; and (6) good time credits are denied to imprisoned sex offenders who refuse treatment when it is offered to them.
3. Artway v. Attorney General of New Jersey, 876 F. Supp. 666 (D.N.J.1995).
4. Artway v. Attorney General of New Jersey, Nos. 95-5157,95-5194, 955-5195, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, April 12, 1996, at 8 and 13.
5. Doe v. Poritz, 142 N.J.1, 662 A.2d.367 (1995).
6. Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, Pub. No. 103-322, 170101,108 Stat. 2038 (1994), codified at 42 U.S.C. 14071.
7. For recent data and analysis of registration acts, see Note, Sex Offender Registration Acts: An Added Dimension to the War on Crime, 28 GA. L. REV. 729 (1994).
8. S. Thomas & Lieb, Sex Offender Registration: A Review of State Laws, Washington State Inst. for Pub. Pol'y 10(revised Feb. 1995).
9. N. J. Pub. L. 1994, c. 128.
10. For an early discussion of Megan's Law, see Montana, An Ineffective Weapon in the Fight Against Child Sexual Abuse: New Jersey's Megan's Law, 3 J. L. & POL'Y 569 (1995).
11. supra note 5, passim.
12. Steinbock, A Policy Perspective, CRIM. JUST. ETHICS, Summer/Fall 1995, at 4-8.
13. Personal communication with Roxanne Lieb, Associate Director, Washington State Inst. for Pub Pol'y, (Dec. 28, 1995).
14. Megan's Law Vigilantes Jailed, Trenton Times, Aug. 27, 1995, at A2.
15. supra note 12.
16. Four Men Indicted Under Megan's Law, Trenton Times, Dec. 24, 1995, at A4.
17. Schram and Milloy, Community Notification: A Study of Offender Characteristics and Recidivism, Washington State Inst. for Pub. Pol'y (1995).
18. supra note 12.
19. N.J. Pub. L. 1994, c. 128.
20. WASH. REV. CODE § 71.09 (Supp. 1990-91).
21. For an extensive discussion of the Washington Sexually Violent Predator statute, see Brooks, The Constitutionality and Morality of Civilly Committing Violent Sexual Predators, 15 U. PUGET SOUND L. REV. 709 (1992)
22. Symposium, Predators and Politics: A Symposium on Washington's Sexually Violent Predators Statute, 15 U. PUGET SOUND L. REV. 507-911 (1992) for a variety of analyses.
23. Nelson and Seven, Sex Predator Program a Center of Trouble, Seattle Times, Aug. 7, 1995.
24. In re Young, 122 Wash.2d 1, 857 P.2d 989 (1993).
25. Young v. Weston, 898 F.Supp. 744 (D. Wash. 1995).
26. Baxstrom v. Herold, 383 U.S. 107 (1966).
27. See supra note 9.
28. See the methodological analysis in Brooks, supra note 19, at pp. 740-750
29. Litwack, Assessments of Dangerousness: Legal, Research, and Clinical Developments, 21 ADMIN. & POL'Y IN MENTAL HEALTH 361 (1994).
30. Monahan, Risk Assessment of Violence Among the Mentally Disordered: Generating Useful Knowledge, 11 INT'L J. L. & PSYCHIATRY 249, 255 (1988).
31. V. Quinsey, Review of the Washington State Special Commitment Center Program for Sexually Violent Predators, 9 (Feb. 1992) (appendix to Review of Sexual Predator Program: Community Protection Research Project, Washington State Inst. For Pub. Pol'y).
32. Jurek v.Texas, 428 U.S. 262 (1976) and Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880 (1983).
33. Furby, Weinrott & Blackshaw, Sex Offender Recidivism: A Review, 105 PSYCHOL. BULL. 3 (1989).
34. Marshall, Jones, Ward, Johnston & Barbaree, Treatment Outcome With Sex Offenders, 11 CLINICAL PSYCHOL. REV. 465 (1991).
35. Turay v. Weston, No. C91 - 664, W.D.D.C. Wash., June 3,1994 and Reports of Special Master, Dec. 13,1994 and Feb. 13, 1995.
36. Depo-Provera Therapy as an Alternative to Imprisonment, 23 HOUSTON L. REV. 801 note (1986).
37. Pallone, A View From the Front Line, CRIM. J. ETHICS, Summer/Fall, 1995, at 9-11.