Maryland Legal Update

Whats new in Maryland concerning laws pertaining to sex offenders?

Bills that passed in the 2009 session of the General Assembly are retroactivity, minors, photographs and one more I will have to review, all housekeeping sorts of things. An onerous bill to ban from public parks where children regularly gather reported unfavorably. In all there were 36 bills of which 4 became law. Curiously, re minors, retroactive registration is required, a topic addressed in the recent 9th Cir. panel decision discussed in this post.

Maryland currently does not have residency restrictions. These, and additional bans from public property (Md currently bans so from schools and day care property) would make it even more difficult for the ex felon to reenter society, create sex offender ghettos, and headache and expense to enforce. We see this from experience in Georgia, Iowa, Florida and other states that do this restriction.

Residency restrictions typically restrict within various distances from schools, day cares, bus stops and parks. In places this effectively bans so from large portions of the city, in some instances the entire metro area. Rural locale become the only place so may live. In Miami, a bridge causeway has become home to many. Homelessness is the only option for many.

Registration
Registration is not effective and should be reviewed. At a minimum the three tier risk category regime needs work. Too many on the registry do not belong there, do not require monitoring, and pose no danger to the community. The risk regime fails to account for this.

Registration is costly and tax payers do not see any benefits.

Registration has collateral consequences for ex offender's families, many of whom face stigma simply by being related to a registered person. This is unjustifiable given that most registered persons are either wrongly convicted, pose no danger, or are convicted of minor off-the-wall offenses as solicitation, aiding and abetting, public urination, possession of child porn, romeo and juliet and statutory sex that present no danger of recidivism, crimes that non puritan societies do not consider crimes. Most do not recidivate according to DOJ and all credible studies (95 percent).

Registration does not separate predators from the non dangerous variety.

Registration cannot forecast future crimes, or the geographical location of crime as thought to be related to the public disclosure of so residence addresses, and not even if the perp is a registered person as the recent Garrido case shows. The case spotlights the failure of registration to perform the intended function, which is prevention and public safety.

California is considering a registry for arsonists.

Registries create an underclass and movement toward tyranny, toward government sanctioned badges of poverty and slavery, an underclass of have-nots. Registries are a tool of oppression useful only to fear mongers and business seeking to maintain a cheap labor pool. As history tells it from ancient times to Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, this is the beginning of the end of free society. The right wing, neo-con, southern churches and oil lobby have concocted this as part of a scheme to roll back the freedoms of the New Deal and liberal allies have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker. These are the same lobbies that seek to cut medicare and medicaid, children's health insurance, fight bitterly against a public health insurance option, seek to abolish the department of education and roll back a minimum wage law. Look at your neighbor, your elected representative, your mayor, your congressm or senator, and see if that is him or her.

It would be nice to know who is going to commit the next crime or sex crime but this is impossible to predict. Those convicted of sex crime are not so different from the general population of ex offender as to warrant the special attention they have received. Registries are a threat to freedom everywhere. Everyone deserves a second chance to make a first impression.

Maryland and Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

Here is a must read (pdf) for Maryland and anti-Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentencing law enthusiasts.

Maryland HB 2

Just in case you were wondering about the 2006 Emergency Maryland legislative session, sex offender registration laws, and collected criminal, public safety, corrections, probation and parole stuff, here is what the legislature accomplished in the emergency 2006 session (HB 2).

You can also read what the legislature proposed and did not pass, which is lined out, in the Unofficial Copy of the enrolled bill (at the link above).

Here you can read my earlier post on problems unique to registrants and the registry.

If you check out the following tags from the list available on the sidebar, you can pick up some additional info: Banishment, sex offenses.

(You may have to hunt a little within the postings that come up under the tag, because I have lumped brief references and newsy shorts into those posts that I now refer to as the Crows Nest, contrasted with more substantive comments that I try more or less to maintain as beefier individual entries.)

Corey Young at Sex Crimes and Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy (See Best Prison and Crime Law at the right) also have up to the minute info on these and related topics.

Christmas Day Oddities

The Old South Hasn't Gone Anywhere, and Won't:

X _________ (just take a wild guess) and a number of political interest groups attacked Wallace's nomination (to the federal bench), led by a scathing report from the American Bar Association that gave him a "not qualified" rating. The report specifically questioned his record on civil rights, his treatment of minorities and his record on voting rights issues. The predominantly African-American Magnolia Bar Association also opposed Wallace's nomination on grounds the 5th Circuit bench needs more diversity based on the district's population.

Wallace was reticent about his political opposition, but when asked if he held racist views, Wallace said flatly: "No."

The ABA report noted: "Lawyers and judges stated that Mr. Wallace did not understand or care about issues central to the lives of the poor, minorities, the marginalized, the have-nots and those who do not share his view of the world."

More Synaptical Sparks Concerning Ohio, Death Penalty and interesting comments about pain, punishment and death from crimeandconsequences dot com here.

Maryland, Death Penalty notes, and the Political Value to State Republicans, tipped in from Washington Post via How Appealing (Howard Bashman):

the confluence of national currents and a Maryland court ruling last week halting executions on a technicality could make the death penalty a defining issue of O'Malley's tenure.***executions are not likely to resume without action from his administration. Under the ruling by the Court of Appeals, new regulations must be drafted before the state may put more prisoners to death -- and early signs from O'Malley and his aides suggest that he sees no reason to rush that process. *** O'Malley said he was certain that "all of this will spark a renewed debate as to whether all of the money we spend prosecuting death penalty cases might be better spent fighting violent crime and saving lives."***Legislation that allowed executions to resume would be subject to a filibuster in the Senate, however, and is not certain to pass, said Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee. In coming weeks, lawmakers will be looking at O'Malley to signal where the process is headed, said Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg (D-Baltimore), vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

A pair of interesting posts from Howard Bashman, a Freebie, (in Law dotcom) about SCOTUS, from Legal Times (not cheap news), and what I might call a year-end wrap-up here (written by Howard).

Happy Holidays!

Ohio Death Penalty Overview, Abolition Possible in Maryland

Maryland Moratorium on Executions

What we're hoping will happen is that the governor will see and the legislature will see that this is an unworkable policy and that the time and money that it would take to fix it -- and we believe it is unfixable -- is just a waste of everyone's resources," said Stephanie Gibson, an associate professor at the University of Baltimore and a chairwoman of the board of directors of Maryland Citizens Against State Executions. "We're the third state now that has a de facto moratorium because of problems with lethal injection. There is no good way to execute people."

But Del. Barry Glassman, a Harford County Republican and capital punishment supporter, said he would not be surprised if the General Assembly takes up a proposal on whether to repeal the death penalty.

"This issue is of a magnitude that it's going to require some kind of legislative action to address whether you're for or against the death penalty," Glassman said. "The legislature really has the duty to weigh in on this. It's a big enough policy question that a committee should look at it and a whole body should vote on it."

Click to read the full article from BSun


From near a Conspicuously Deathly post by DAB, who pasted on very good overview pieces re Ohio (not critical, I'm the one being cumbersome)
Here is a Nation article by Bruce Shapiro:

For the last decade, the issue that has driven the death penalty debate — galvanizing the attention of courts and press alike — has been innocence: a capital representation system so criminally negligent that 123 wrongfully convicted death-row inmates have been released, and public confidence in death sentences eroded.

Yet innocence cases, in their own way, have evaded a fundamental question: What about the grievously guilty? What about what one pro-death-penalty legal scholar calls "the worst of the worst"? Are executions of the truly guilty consistent with America's evolving constitutional standards, with national ideals and worldwide human rights norms?

And here the article in Cleveland Plain Dealer and on Ohio Cases are linked (thanks to DAB). Columbus Dispatch article here on sex offenders. Here is a taste of that one:

In March, Judge Daniel T. Hogan, the administrative judge of the 17-member Franklin County Common Pleas bench, told lawmakers that going too far will actually benefit criminal defendants. "The vast, vast majority of child sex-assault cases are not supported by strong evidence," Hogan said, adding that if stronger punishments push more offenders to opt for trial, fewer convictions will result.

I completely agree with that...but this view is rarely heard. This also presumes that a fair trial can be had. In some states that is still not possible given the "climate" of public opinion, e.g., Texas and ... (anybody have any more from personal experience?).

This Does Not Happen Often: Banishment ordinance stricken as Punitive in Cape May (Friday)

If you want a shock click on this from Worldnet Daily: "Sextra Credit"

Trends and Updates

A few interesting things to note:

Judicial Activism is not necessarily always a "liberal" phenomenon, esp. in the area of Seventh Amendment jury trial right, (re judges taking matters away from jury via summary judgments) (hat tip scotus)

And excellent piece by Jonathan Hafetz "American Justice on the line" from Huffington Post referncing Federalist #84. Hafetz is one of Al-Marri's lawyers, (see below).

There is a lot happening in the Fourth Circuit with the case of Al-Marri v. Wright (docket 06-7427) which plans to hold a hearing on it early in February. Scoot over to SCOTUSblog for all that. Judge Robertson's Order dismissing Hamdan's case from last week is over there too.

Find links to Carey v. Musladin commentary by Prof Amar and Maryland high court ruling halting executions at Standdown Texas.

Doug Berman (SL and P) asks whether the PROSECUTOR should request clemency for Genarlow Wilson. The comments (4) illustrate what I was talking about here this morning concerning my friend who thinks PROSECUTORS OFFICES are where you can really make a difference in this area of the law.

MSM Shines On

Personally, I've started to tune out bs articles like this but some people get angry enough to comment. Here is a good one from this weekend found (where else?) on Sentencing Law and Policy.

"Who else quit reading and had to walk off the rage and disgust after reading this from "Tracking down sexual predators just in time"? With just four investigators, the CyberCrime Unit can't possibly probe the thousands of child pornographers on the Internet operating in Florida, but it tries to go after the worst of the worst. BABIES AND TODDLERS Horkan has an intense dislike for people who use babies and toddlers in pornography. ''Child pornography is not largely 16-year-olds. It is largely little girls or boys, toddlers. Tiny babies are being molested. They are actually being penetrated,'' she said.``Most people would vomit to see the stuff they have.'' Yes, they may literally vomit, but who else, after cooling off some, returned to the story and read this a further eight paragraphs down the page? About 90 percent of the sexual solicitations happened to children 13 and older. So is Alan Naj really the worst of the worst? The implication is strong. The fallacy of the part equals the whole is very effective and carries a powerful emotional punch right in the gut. But a second, more careful reading finds something else disturbing: Reporters embedded with the police are often misleading, as they were when they surrendered to the government while embedded with the troops. How many readers, in their rage and disgust, will stop to realize toddlers are not on the Internet at all and cannot be solicited? Conflating the two crimes, though both are serious public safety concerns, is not a sound basis for rational law. Such is the stuff of "moral panics" and irrational law, and irrational law is never best for public safety."

The article from the Miami Herald, "Tracking down sexual predators just in time" can be found here.

Heard on NPR, Maryland's Court of Appeals will soon begin to webcast its proceedings.

Fighting CPS? Here is some info for you.

Want to send a Christmas card to somebody in prison? Check this out.

if you know of a man or woman who would like to receive a christmas card, please send me their name & info. I will make a list and post it to the groups. Carol Leonard. Prison Reform is NOT soft on crime.

The Sex Offender Homelessness Problem & the New Class of State Slave

From Corey Yung at Sex Crimes yesterday -- A Maryland court was forced to confront the issue of how homeless sex offenders can comply with the requirements of that state's registry requirements. Their answer? Homeless sex offenders are exempt:

Sex offenders who are homeless are exempt from laws requiring them to register a change of address with state officials, Maryland’s high court ruled Wednesday. The Maryland Court of Appeals said in a pair of unanimous rulings that it would be impossible for the homeless to comply with provisions of the state sex offender registry.

Corey Yung (Sex Crimes) wonders how this problem is addressed in the probation context and credits eAdvocate for letting him know about this case. For more on this topic, and how restrictions do not actually protect children and society, and developments from the states of KS, UT, IA, WA go blog at Sex Crimes.

Let's really make the world safer and not just say we are. Registries and restrictions in Z's view create an entirely new and growing underclass, branded and shamed, unable to pursue careers, upon whom a disproportionate share of a scarce budget must be spent on policing and registering, and investigating and administering.

After several years of results, the statistics are coming in and beginning to show how completely useless this “feel good” solution has been.

The real solution should be to construct solid re-entry and reintegration community-based programs, and not on segregation, policing and fingerprinting, in essence creating state and federal catalogs of sex offenders. That's how communities should get involved, and that's how communities can become engaged in true prevention as well. That's not perverted.

That's called helping your neighbor.