PA Supreme Court Tosses Juvenile Sex Offender Registration
From OCDLA Library of Defense
This wikilog article is a draft, it was not published yet.
by: Ryan • December 30, 2014 • no comments
The story is here.
Key quote from the newspaper article:
- "We agree with the juveniles that (the law)'s registration requirements improperly brand all juvenile offenders' reputations with an indelible mark of a dangerous recidivist, even though the irrebuttable presumption linking adjudication of specified offenses with a high likelihood of recidivating is not 'universally true,'" Justice Max Baer wrote for the majority.
- Baer reviewed research showing much lower rates of recidivism for juvenile sex offenders, compared to adults, and concluded that "the vast majority of juvenile offenders are unlikely to recidivate."
- Marsha Levick with the Juvenile Law Center, which represented the defendants, called the decision a great victory for children who have been wrongly affected by the law. She was uncertain how many juveniles have registered in the state, but said it may be fewer than 100.
- "It means the state can't register juveniles," Levick said. "Any juveniles that have been registered should be removed from the registry."
