Research Paper on "Criminal Justice Sex Offender Regulations Maryland"

Research Paper 7 pages (2348 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Criminal Justice

Sex Offender Regulations

Maryland's Sex Offender Registration Guidelines

People found guilty by a court of a sexual crime must register with the state. The amount of time and grouping of registration depends on the crime for which a person has been convicted, the age of the injured party and the date that the crime was committed. All offenders must register with a managing power or with the selected local law enforcement division. Tier I registrants must register in person each six months, tier II registrants must register in person each six months and tier III registrants must register in person each three months (Sex Offender Registry FAQs, n.d.).

All offenders must at first register with an overseeing authority or with the chosen local law enforcement division within three days of release to community supervision from the court, previous to release from a correctional facility or within three days of concluding permanent residency in Maryland. All Maryland registrants must keep informed their registration statements within three days of changing homes, three days of altering employment or three days of altering any information on the registration statement. People who are residents of Maryland must in the beginning register with an overseeing authority or with the chosen local law enforcement division within three days of starting employment in Maryland, within three days of becoming a student in a Maryland school, within three days of coming into Maryland as a temporary resident, within three days of starting enduring residency in Maryland or within three days of stopping permanent residency (Sex Offender Registry FAQs, n.d.).

Procedural Guidelines Related to the Implementation of the Registration Program

Joe was released from prison on March 10, 2010 with instructions to report to for sex offender registration, depending on what tier of crime that Joe was convicted of will determine the length of time that he has to register. Maryland has three lengths of registration: fifteen years, twenty five years and for the rest of their lives. The extent of registration is based on the sex offender's conviction. Those found guilty of a tier I offense have to register for fifteen years, those found guilty of tier II offenses have to register for twenty five years and those found guilty of tier III offenses have lifetime registration requirements. People who are not residents but who are employed in or going to school in Maryland must register for the appropriate period of time in regards to their class of registration, or until their employment or student status in Maryland comes to an end, if that happens before the end of the registration time frame (Sex Offender Registry FAQs, n.d.).

All fifty states have openly searchable sex offender databases, which are available by way of a national registry that is kept and funded by the U.S. Justice Department. The Adam Walsh Act necessitates that all states have to take on the same minimum principles for registering and keeping track of sex offenders, incorporating the knowledge they put online. According to the law, states must incorporate where sex offenders are employed and attend school, the vehicles they drive, the assumed names that they use and the crimes they have carried out (Gramlich, 2010).

Joe would be required to provide the following information on his public registration statement: his name, address, and age, a photo of himself, his employer or school, including institutions of higher education in Maryland, his registration group whether is be tier I, II, or III, his term of registration being fifteen years, twenty five years, or lifetime, whether he is a resident of Maryland or not, a legal depiction of the crime or crimes he committed, a plain language description of the crime or crimes that he committed, his dates of conviction, his aliases, his car information including build, model and color including license plate information and the jurisdiction of conviction whether state, federal, military, or tribal court (Sex Offender Registry FAQs, n.d.).

Penalties for Noncompliance

In Maryland if a person intentionally fails to register, amend their address or fails to supply a change as required is subject to the punishments under Criminal Procedure Article, §11-721, Annotated Code of Maryland. The law says that a person who intentionally fails to register, does not supply notice of amendment of address, change of enrollment in or employment at a Maryland college or university, or who intentionally gives false information may be convicted of a misdemeanor and may jailed for up to three years or a fined up to $5,000 or both (Sex Offender Registry FAQs, n.d.).

Have the laws regulating sex offender lifestyle gone too far? If so, in what way?

I believe that the laws regulation sex offenders have gone too far. There are many documented cases that show the absurdity of sex-offender registries kept in so many states. With the advent of the crime sexting the laws that are being applied particularly to teenagers are way out of bounds. I would prefer that first degree rapists, child molesters, sex traffickers, and child pornographers be kept in prison for life, but if they must be released, monitoring is a reasonable expectation. But people who aren't sexual predators shouldn't have to bear the same stigma. It is neither just nor prudent. Sex offender registries best protect the public when their enigmas are reserved for people who are actually deserving of such stigma.

It isn't just sexual predators who are influenced by the current way that things are done. There are all kinds of crimes that are now considered to be criminal offenses that make a person a sex offender, a label that is not always true. Certain categories of crimes appear to be enticing people into discarding the usual regulations that govern criminal justice. Unavoidably, these departures end up unjustly punishing people who don't fairly fit the labels, but are nonetheless identified for the rest of their lives.

Is legislation regulating sex offender registration Constitutional?

Sex offender registration and societal announcement rules have been put into place in order to track possible recidivists and to defend society from those people who reside within close proximity and have been convicted of a sex crime. The underlying principle for such laws has been undoubtedly expressed in the fact that public security is the most important goal. The imposition experienced by the criminal is overshadowed by societies need to defend itself from those sex criminals who are most probable to reoffend. Even though the inspiration behind sex offender registration statutes is well established, it is just as apparent that these statutes serve to name, brand, and stigmatize those people convicted of sexual crimes. This is a disgrace that affixes to and follows these people for years, no matter the insignificant character of the fundamental crime.

Generally, rules that materialize to be criminal punishments have been advocated as constitutionally allowable when the guideline serves a substitute non-punitive function which is reasonably associated to the constraint, and the guideline is not extreme in connection to the substitute purpose allocated. Founded on a two branch intent-effects examination, a guideline meets the assurance of due process if it is adequately modified to its civil objectives. Even where a gauge carries secondary effects of penalty, the legislation will be looked upon as non-punitive. Sex offender registration necessities, consequently, can only be looked at as regulatory legislation if the stigmatizing character of registration is offset by an obvious manifestation of adequate substitute rationale and in this case, defense of the community from sexual predators. I think that the basic laws regulating sex offender legislation that are currently in place are constitutional in the fact that their intent is to protect the public at large. Where I don't see that they work is in the cases that involve juveniles or adults who have not been found guilty of a serious sexual crime. I think that the test that is being used to determine what crimes should fall under the laws is too narrow and needs to be revisited.

Conn. Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Doe, 538 U.S. 1 (U.S. 2003)

In the case of Conn. Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Doe, 538 U.S. 1, a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit was given to petitioner state agencies and officials to review an order enjoining the public revelation of Connecticut's sex offender registry. The respondent argued that without a hearing to determine if he were dangerous, disclosure deprived him of a liberty significance and due process.

Connecticut founded the registry requirement on the fact of previous conviction, not present seriousness. The community website registry explicitly stated that administrators had not figured out that any person was presently dangerous. Due process does not necessitate the occasion to establish a fact that was not of substance to the statutory idea nor entitle the person to an investigation to found a fact that was not of substance under the Connecticut laws. The truth that the offender sought to establish that he was not presently harmful… READ MORE

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