Sex offender residency restrictions are still politically popular, but are they losing steam legally? Maurice Chammah, writing for the Texas Observer, says many court rulings are going against such laws in states and communities across the country – including many local restrictions in Texas.
In August, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated a Michigan law that retroactively applied various restrictions to people convicted before the laws were passed. Judge Alice Batchelder wrote that the law “has much in common with banishment and public shaming.” Since 2014, state and federal judges have struck down laws restricting where sex offenders can live in California, New York and Massachusetts. In addition to the Texas lawsuits, there are ongoing legal battles over registries and restrictions associated with them in Illinois, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Alabama, Colorado, Nevada and Idaho, among other states.
Research has consistently shown that residency restrictions do not work.
Read the full article from the Texas Observer.
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