Sex Offender Notification Law OKd

A federal judge on Monday approved the central aspect of Megan’s Law, saying that warning communities about a released sex offender in their midst does not violate the ex-convict’s rights.

The decision by U.S. District Judge John W. Bissell will lift a temporary ban he imposed on community notification and reverses a series of adverse rulings by other judges.

Sex offenders have claimed the notifications are unconstitutional because they amount to additional punishment for people who committed crimes before Megan’s Law was enacted in 1994 and had already served their sentences.

The law was named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was slain in 1994. A convicted sex offender who lived across the street from her home is awaiting trial on sex assault and murder charges.

Megan’s mother, Maureen Kanka, said she was “very, very pleased” by the ruling.

Other federal judges had upheld the requirement that all released sex offenders register with the local police, and 3,478 have registered in the state.

Other states have proposed or passed laws similar to New Jersey’s. And the federal Megan’s Law, signed by President Clinton on May 17, requires states to enact legislation that includes community notification or risk losing federal aid.

Bissell said the notifications are intended to warn residents, not punish offenders a second time.

“Megan’s Law is not the product of a lust for retribution,” he said, but a “measured attempt” to seek a remedy and a deterrent.