|
|
| About site: Crime/Sex Offenses/Court Cases - Megan's Law Debated Before High Court |
Return to Society also Society
|
| About site: http://www.postgazette.com/regionstate/19980917megan4.asp |
Title: Crime/Sex Offenses/Court Cases - Megan's Law Debated Before High Court Opponents of Pennsylvania's "Megan's Law," asked the state Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional.
|
|
|
|
|
Dealing_with_Workplace_Violence_-_A_Guide_for_Agency_Planners Intended to assist those who are responsible for establishing workplace violence initiatives at their agencies. HTML and pdf formats available.
| PlanetOut_Television_Archive A series of independently produced television programs which can be viewed online using realvideo or quicktime. Includes several transgendered programs, including a series following the different road
| MKP_Los_Angeles About the New Warrior Training Adventure for Los Angeles and surrounding counties; includes general information, registration, and a directory of local I-Groups.
| Azazel From a Gallery of Demons. Information on the demon Azazel.
| Fredrickson,_Nick_-_Freddie\'s_Funland Pictures, survey, likes and dislikes, profile, and links.
| Nation_Planet A multilingual link site on nationalism, identity, separatism, regionalism, and ethnicity.
|
|
| Alexa statistic for http://www.postgazette.com/regionstate/19980917megan4.asp |
Please visit: http://www.postgazette.com/regionstate/19980917megan4.asp
|
| Related sites for http://www.postgazette.com/regionstate/19980917megan4.asp |
| Tidlund,_Brian Contains travel pictures, opinions of movies, genealogy and screensaver. | | Jessey,_Simon Offers personal thoughts about settling into life in the United States after leaving England. | | Kirman,_Paula_E_ Displays her various writing, music, and web design projects. | | Peace_Conference_at_the_Hague_1899 Correspondence, instructions, and reports. | | Howerton_Heritage__USA Quarterly e-newsletter investigating the name and its application in America. Features history of the database, noteboard, reunions, biographies, obituaries and associated links. | | Punjab_Trauma Describes and denounces the effects of terrorism by the violent separatist organisations and individuals. | | WisdomQuest Devoted to learning all that is possible about the universe, investigation and discussion includes the physical and spiritual environment. | | Exploring_the_Environment An open forum covering the gamut of environmental issues. | | The_Commonwealth_of_Learning Program for basic education opportunities. | | Water_and_Conflict Insight to role of water in conflict and co-operation. Water, politics, and conflict in the Middle East with a focus on the Jordan River basin. Section on (inter)national water law in general, confere | | Another_Linguistic_Turn? Review by Lawrence Kaye of `Language, Thought and Consciousness: An Essay in Philosophical Psychology' by Peter Carruthers. | | Lacan_com__Why_Does_a_Letter_Always_Arrive_at_its_Destination? Etext of the essay by Slavoj Zizek. | | Across_the_Rainbow_Bridge Bible studies dealing with the return of Jesus Christ and other helpful topics. Also has links to Christian graphics and MIDI files. Plays MIDI without asking, and no way to turn it off. | | The_Dolphin_Institute Dedicated to dolphins and whales through education, research, and conservation, includes scientific papers, research, and testimonials. | | The_Glitter_Has_Faded_to_Dust Biography, original photography and Depeche Mode links. | | Distinguished_Women_of_Past_and_Present__Joan_of_Arc Brief illustrated biography, by Danuta Bois. | | Kelowna_Chinese_Youth_Group Chinese Youth Group In Kelowna, BC, Canada. | | Pomp__The_True_Story_of_the_Baby_on_the_Sacagawea_Dollar The famous infant's later life as an adventurer in the American West. | | Henriette_von_Schirach Story of the daughter of Adolf Hitler's close friend and personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. | | Maya__Portraits_of_a_People Overview of Mayan cultural history and archaeology; museum exhibit site (McClung Museum, University of Tennessee, Knoxville). |
|
This is websites2007.org cache of m/ as retrieved on 2008.07.20 websites2007.org's cache is the snapshot that we took of the page as we crawled the web. The page may have changed since that time.
|
Megan's Law debated before high court
 
Megan's Law debated before high court Thursday, September 17, 1998By Jon Schmitz, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Opponents of Pennsylvania's "Megan's Law," a 2 1/2-year-old statute that was intended to crack down on violent sex offenders, asked the state Supreme Court yesterday to declare the law unconstitutional.
Supporters of the law said it was a rational and constitutional way to protect citizens from "sexually violent predators."
The Supreme Court heard arguments in Pittsburgh for appeals involving six Megan's Law-related cases from throughout the state. The court usually takes several weeks or longer to issue a ruling.
Several lower courts have ruled that portions of the law, which took effect in April 1996, were unconstitutional. But a state appeals court last year upheld a section requiring certain sex offenders to register their whereabouts with law enforcement authorities.
Every state has enacted some version of "Megan's Law," named for a 7-year-old New Jersey girl who was raped and murdered in 1994 by a paroled sex offender who had moved into her neighborhood. The laws generally provide for some type of public notification of the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders after their release from prison.
Civil libertarians and other critics have called the requirement a "badge of infamy" that is attached to offenders for life.
Erie County District Attorney Joseph P. Conti, arguing in favor of the law yesterday, said citizens needed special protection from sex offenders because studies had shown that they were far more likely than other classes of offenders to repeat their crimes.
But opponents attacked a provision in Pennsylvania's law that presumes certain types of convicted sex offenders are "sexually violent predators" unless they are able to prove otherwise. Such a designation subjects an offender to the most stringent notification requirements and, in some cases, to harsher sentences.
Under the law, an individual found guilty of kidnapping, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, or some prostitution and obscenity offenses is referred to a state board before sentencing. The board makes a recommendation to the trial judge about whether the offender is a "sexually violent predator." The trial judge holds a hearing, at which the burden rests on the offender to prove by "clear and convincing evidence" that the designation is unjustified.
Those who are so designated face a possible maximum sentence of life in prison, a mandatory life term if convicted of another sex crime and stringent registration requirements if and when they get out of prison.
Karl Baker, a Philadelphia public defender who has spearheaded statewide challenges to the law, said it unconstitutionally shifted the burden of proof from prosecutors to the accused, subjected offenders to multiple trials and punishments and was unconstitutionally vague.
Some lower court judges have agreed. In one such case, Erie County Judge Ernest J. DeSantis Jr. ruled in September that because the label "sexually violent predator" carried possible additional punishment, prosecutors should bear the burden of proving that the designation is justified.
"It would be quite easy for a community to 'let down' its constitutional guard in cases such as this that involve acts which are so heinous and repugnant," DeSantis wrote.
Conti told the court the "presumption of innocence" vanished once an individual was convicted of a sex offense, and that it was both lawful and sensible to shift the burden of proof to the offender.
That prompted Justice Stephen A. Zappala to ask if the Legislature could require every convicted murderer to face the death penalty unless he could prove that a lesser sentence was justified.
Justice Sandra Schultz Newman wondered aloud why convicted killers were not required to register with authorities after their release from jail.
Conti replied that sex offenders, because of their penchant for repeated offenses, posed "unique and serious problems" that justify special treatment under the law.
Another issue before the high court is whether the registration requirements in Megan's Law can be imposed on offenders whose crimes occurred before the law was enacted.
A Superior Court panel ruled last year that the notification requirement was not "punishment" and thus could be applied retroactively.
Public defender Jeanette Dickerson of Montgomery County asked the Supreme Court to reverse that ruling, saying the registration requirement was an "additional penalty enacted after the commission of a crime," and therefore was an unconstitutional "ex post facto" law.
Her client, Dennis Gaffney, was convicted of sexual assault on a 9-year-old girl four months before Megan's Law took effect. He was sentenced to six to 30 years in jail. If he gets out, he must register his whereabouts with state police, who will disseminate the information to local law enforcement officials.
|
|
| |
Opponents | of | Pennsylvania's | "Megan's | Law," | asked | the | state | Supreme | Court | to | declare | the | law | unconstitutional. |
|
http://www.postgazette.com/regionstate/19980917megan4.asp
Megan's Law Debated Before High Court 2008 July
dvd rental
dvd
Opponents of Pennsylvania's "Megan's Law," asked the state Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional.
Rules
|
© 2008 Internet Explorer 5+ or Netscape 6+
|
|
Recommended Sites: 1.
Arts -
Business -
Computers -
Games -
Health -
Home -
Kids and Teens -
News -
Recreation -
Reference -
Regional -
Science -
Shopping -
Society -
Sports -
World
Miss Gallery
- Top Anime Hentai
- DVD rental by mail
- Tesco - Mobile Phones - Loans - Salvage Title Cars - Remortgaging
|
