Court Upholds Sex Offender Registration

The federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld a federal law requiring sex offenders to register with authorities when they move from one state to another. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a federal judge in Florida erred when he ruled that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 2006 was "facially unconstitutional." The cases involved men who had registered elsewhere but failed to do so when they moved to Florida. The assistant federal public defender in Tampa claimed Congress exceeded its authority by passing the law because the sex offender registration is already controlled by the states.

(Associated Press)

New Sex Offender Bill

Registered sex offenders would not be allowed to run for or serve on a school board in Georgia under legislation that passed in the state Senate. State Sen. John Douglas sponsored the measure that passed unanimously Tuesday. Douglas, a Republican from Social Circle, says he was spurred by a 2008 incident in his Newton County district where a convicted pedophile unsuccessfully sought a seat on the local school board. He says the legislation would stop sex offenders from using a seat on the school board to gain access to children. It now moves to the House.

(Associated Press)

Ga. sex offenders must hand over online passwords

A law is set to take effect in Georgia Thursday that requires sex offenders to hand over Internet passwords, screen names and e-mail addresses.

Georgia joins a small band of states complying with guidelines in a 2006 federal law requiring authorities to track Internet addresses of sex offenders. But the state is among the first to take the extra step of forcing its 16,000 offenders to turn in their passwords as well.

A federal judge ruled in September that a similar law in Utah violated the privacy rights of an offender who challenged it. That ruling applied to only one offender who had a military conviction
on sex offenses but was never in Utah's court or prison system.

No one in Georgia has challenged the law yet. But critics say it threatens the privacy of sex offenders and places an additional burden on law enforcement officials.

State Sen. Cecil Staton, who wrote the bill, says the measure is designed to keep the Internet safe for children. Authorities could use the passwords and other information to make sure offenders aren't stalking children online or chatting with them about off-limits topics.

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(AP)

Georgia top court strikes down sex offender law provision

Georgia’s top court has thrown another strike against the state’s tough sex offender law. The Georgia Supreme Court says it is "cruel and unusual punishment" to require an automatic life prison sentence for sex offenders who repeatedly fail to register. The court’s 6-1 decision throws out the life sentence of Cedric Bradshaw. The 25-year-old was arrested for failing to register as an offender, after spending weeks trying to find a place to live that did not violate the law’s residential restrictions. Earlier, the Court struck down another provision that required homeless offenders to register their address, calling it unconstitutionally vague.

Woman can stay in home, says court in eastern Georgia

A woman on Georgia's sex offender registry will get to stay in her home for Thanksgiving.

Wendy Whitaker's attorneys say a state court in eastern Georgia granted the woman a temporary restraining order, preventing officials from evicting her.

Whitaker, 29, of Harlem, near Augusta, is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit seeking to strike down housing restrictions for sex offenders.

She's on the registry because of a sex act between her and a boy when both were teen-agers, an act that she and her attorneys say was consensual. Whitaker was 17 at the time. Her attorneys say her punishment is extreme.

She has faced the possibility of losing her home because it's located within 1000 feet of a child care center and church. State law requires people on the registry to live more than 1000 feet from areas where children congregate, such as day care centers and schools.

Whitaker had faced eviction on Thanksgiving Day.

The order allows her to remain in the home as a state court case, which seeks to remove her from the registry, moves its way through the legal system.

Sex offender residency law under fire

Critics of Georgia's crackdown on sex offenders are trying to block the eviction of a 29-year-old woman who is the face of a lawsuit challenging the tough new restrictions. Lawyers for Wendy Whitaker filed a motion in Columbia County Superior Court today urging a judge to block an eviction scheduled for next week. The new rules, approved in 2006, ban sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of just about anywhere children gather.

(Associated Press)

New challenge to sex offender law

Critics of Georgia's sweeping crackdown on sex offenders asked a federal judge today to allow sex offenders to volunteer at churches. The Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights claims the current ban contradicts the right to participate in prayer worship. The center said one offender in Glynn County faced prosecution for playing the piano during a regular Sunday service. The law also bans sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, gyms, swimming pools and the state's 150,000 school bus stops.

(Associated Press)

Georgia court: Sex offender provision unfair

Georgia's top court has ruled a provision in Georgia's strict new sex offender law is unconstitutional because it fails to tell homeless offenders how they can comply with the
law.

The law is designed to keep sex offenders away from children by monitoring how close they live to schools, parks and other spots where kids gather. But critics say it unfairly subjects homeless offenders to a life sentence if they fail to register a home address.

The Georgia Supreme Court's 6-1 decision Monday found the law's registration requirements were "unconstitutionally vague." But the opinion went on to say that homeless offenders are not exempt from the statute, and suggested special reporting requirements for the homeless.
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On the Net: http://www.gasupreme.us

(AP)

GA sex offender law 'unfair' to homeless, say advocates

Civil rights advocates say a strict new Georgia law designed to keep sex offenders away from children punishes the homeless. Georgia's Supreme Court is considering whether the law unfairly subjects homeless offenders to a life sentence if they fail register a home address. The case involves a homeless man and convicted sex offender who was kicked out of a Gainesville homeless shelter two years ago and was arrested three months later on charges he failed to register with Georgia's sex offender list. Defense lawyers say the law is unfair because it bars homeless sex offenders from giving a post office box or simply saying they are homeless. The challenge is among a growing number of cases targeting Georgia's sex offender law, which sponsors declared one of the toughest in the nation when it was adopted in 2006.

New state laws debut today

More than 400 new laws take effect in Georgia today.

One is the controversial new gun measure. This allows Georgians with carry permits to bring firearms into restaurants serving alcohol, onto public transportation, and into state parks.

Other laws now on the books include:

- Wine can now be bought from wineries directly over the Internet and by phone. Partially finished bottles of wine can now be taken home from restaurants.

- Sex offenders are now prohibited from volunteering at churches

- Tougher measures on those driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Now, a fourth DUI offense in 10 years brings a felony charge. Georgia was one of five states that did not have a law making four DUI offenses a felony.

Sex offenders claim religious worship stifled

Five sex offenders say a state law blocks them from participating in religious worship. They filed a lawsuit today against a provision that bars sex offenders from serving any role with a religious organization. The complaint says "even helping a pastor with Bible study or preparing a meal in a church kitchen will subject (sex offenders) to prosecution and imprisonment." The main portion of the measure bans sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of just about anywhere children gather.

Group challenges new sex offender residency law

A new law with residency restrictions on convicted sex offenders has drawn swift criticism – and a lawsuit -- from civil rights advocates.   The measure is intended to fix a 2006 law which bans convicted sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of children.   

The state Supreme Court called the previous law unconstitutional after a Clayton County man was forced from his home when a pair of day care centers opened nearby.    

Civil rights advocates however say the only difference between the old and new law is that home owners get to keep their homes.   But, their concerns don't stop there.  Sarah Garrity is an attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights.   

"For example, the much criticized school bus stop provision remains a part of the law, there are no exceptions for people who are physically incapacitated by illness or age, there is no distinction between people who are on the registry who because they engaged in consensual sex as teenagers, and people who are really dangerous people."  

The group has already filed a lawsuit, challenging the new law.  Also among its concerns … that large portions of the state would bendeclared off-limits to sex offenders.

Tuesday roundup of bills signed by Perdue

Several bills were signed into law by Governor Perdue on Tuesday.

-Legislation approved into law that gives consumers greater protection over their credit information. Consumers for a fee can ‘freeze’ access to their information.

-Approved is a bill that creates a special fund and speeds the process for the approval of reservoirs in the state.

-Three other bills approved deal with education—-all pave a smoother path for the creation of charter schools in Georgia.

-Perdue signed into law Tuesday a measure that reworks an earlier version of the sex offenders residency law that was struck down by the state’s Supreme Court. It brings back many restrictions to fix a 2006 law that bans sex offenders from living, working or loitering within one-thousand feet of nearly anywhere children gather.

-Despite his opposition to Sunday sales of alcohol in the state, the Governor Tuesday did sign a bill that allows for beer to be sold at Gwinnett County’s new baseball stadium on Sundays next year. In addition, Perdue signed the bill to allow Georgians to buy wine over the Internet.

SB 1- Passes - Sex offender residency restrictions.

A Bill that re-stablishes residency requirements for people on the Sex offender registry got final passage today. Last year the State Supreme court struck down a that requirement because it would force sex offenders to move if a daycare center opens up near them. SB 1 now fixes that problem and allows Sex offenders to remain in their residencies. But once they move, they have to keep a 1000 feet distance from places where children gather. The bill now goes to Governor Perdue for his signature.

Proposal limits where sex offenders can live

Today House lawmakers renewed their effort to limit where sex offenders live and work. Under a new bill introduced by House Republicans, a sex offender who owns his or her home would no longer have to vacate it if a center where children gather later opens up within 1,000 feet. It carves out a similar exception for sex offenders who have established employment, allowing them to keep their job if a day care center or other gathering spot pops up. In November, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned a portion of a law passed two years ago that banned sex offenders from living and working within 1,000 feet of schools, churches and other areas where children congregate.

Baker says sex offender law now clear

Georgia’s attorney says he’s now clear on how to enforce the state’s sex offender law. State Attorney General Thurbert Baker says sex offenders in George are only exempt from the state's strict residency requirements if they own property. Last month the state Supreme Court issued a ruling that seemed to completely toss a provision barring sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of any place where children congregate. Now, Baker’s office says that provision is only null and void for sex offenders who own property within 1,000 feet.

Lawmakers craft new sex offender bill

House Republicans are pushing a new bill that would limit where sex offenders may live in Georgia. The state Supreme Court overturned a previous bill’s ban on sex offenders living within a thousand feet of any place where children congregate. The new bill would create exceptions including allowing a sex offender who owns a home to stay if a place like a day care center opened up within a thousand feet. Another exception would allow sex offenders with established employment to keep their jobs if a day care center opened nearby.

TV Ad Outs Unregistered Pedophiles

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Screenshot of announcement with number to call. (Courtesy Muscogee County Sheriff's Dept)

A west Georgia Sheriff's Department is calling on the public to report missing sex offenders. And the department is using a tv advertisement to do it.

The 30-second spot shows photos and names of nine sex offenders who haven't registered where they live in Muscogee County.

Major Joe McCrea of the County Sheriff's Office says the response has been exceptional:

"As of today, we should have five of those nine in custody... the one that is scheduled to turn himself in today, has actually called, himself, and is making arrangements to turn himself in -- as a result of this CSA."

The spot began airing just before Thanksgiving.

McCrea says they intend to continue running the community service announcement several more weeks, due to the public response.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of this issue, and here for coverage of the "To Catch a Predator" program.

AG not clear on sex offender ruling

Today Georgia's attorney general asked the state's top court to clarify its ruling striking down a law limiting where sex offenders may live. The law banned registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, churches and other areas where children congregate. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker said there is confusion about whether the decision applies to all 11,000 sex offenders in the state or only to those that own property.

State won't pay deputies for training

Law enforcement agents are gathering on the coast this week to learn about Georgia's sex offender registry, but some won't be attending because their agencies can't afford the training.

Georgia's 14,000 registered sex offenders pay $250 dollars a year to have their whereabouts and proximity to schools, churches and other sites tracked. But the money goes to the state and not the Georgia Sheriffs who do the tracking.

Terry Norris, Executive Director of the Georgia's Sheriffs Assocation, says that leaves many smaller agencies, in particular, short-changed. Norris says, "That was one provision that we tried to affect two years ago and it just didn't happen."

Some rural counties have seen an influx in registered sex offenders who are trying to find places to live away from urban areas.

This week on St. Simons Island, the GSA is holding a 2-day training for law enforcement agents on registry issues, but the state won't reimburse agencies for the training.