aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Friday, June 30, 2006

GA sex offender law on hold

A judge extended the ruling that puts the Georgia sex offender law on hold, but the prospects for a more sane and effective prevention and sentencing policy are not good. The AJC headline, since changed, read Federal Judge sides with sex offenders:

Georgia today appealed a federal judge’s decision to revoke a portion of new Georgia law designed to prevent sex offenders from living near school bus stops.

Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed the appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

The voided legislation, scheduled to go into effect Saturday, would have made it illegal for any person on Georgia’s sex offender registry to live within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper entered a temporary restraining order preventing enforcement of that provision of the new law, meaning registered sex offenders who live near school bus stops can stay in their homes.

The voided provision would have forced many felons to leave their homes or face possible arrest and 10 years or more in prison. [...]

Last week, DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown said all 490 sex offenders in his county would have to move. On Thursday, Brown said Cooper’s order “gives us an opportunity to better research the implications of that particular piece, and I think the judge was wise. And he was wise with a great deal of courage.”

More from me here (it didn’t work in other states, it won’t work here, and they’re not as likely to re-offend as we assume). Here’s the restraining order, the Southern Center for Human Rights (which brought the lawsuit) litigation materials, the Georgia law and the official profile of the judge.