Oregon Law Review : Vol. 86, No. 1 (2007)

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Browsing Oregon Law Review : Vol. 86, No. 1 (2007) by Subject "Sex offenders -- Legal status, laws, etc."

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    Oregon Law Review : Vol. 86 No. 1, p. 219-248 : How to Stop a Predator: The Rush to Enact Mandatory Sex Offender Residency Requirements and Why States Should Abstain
    (University of Oregon School of Law, 2007) Boyd, Justin H.
    A new trend in state legislation emerged as twenty-two states entered legally unsettled waters by enacting various residency restrictions for convicted sex offenders. Legislators tout the need for such residency restrictions to reduce child sex offenders’ opportunities for contact with potential victims. However, courts disagree whether these new laws are constitutional, and research increasingly questions their utility. This Comment will first look at the primary legal questions facing the courts, examining various legal challenges to state residency restrictions and the limited research surrounding the efficacy of such restrictions. Next, this Comment will address the 2006 California ballot measure Proposition 83, which serves as a practical case study of these new restrictions and their unsettled legal ramifications. Finally, this Comment will examine Oregon’s nonmandatory residency restriction and explain why it serves as the best model for achieving the goals of protecting our children, monitoring the sex offender population, and withstanding judicial review. Ultimately, this Comment will attempt to show that research on mandatory residency restrictions may affect the way future courts rule on these restrictions. This Comment will also attempt to persuade those presently in favor of mandatory residency restrictions that more flexible, nonmandatory restrictions will increase the likelihood of achieving their stated objectives.