In the three years after release from prison, 1

Reviewing the ugly backstory of SCOTUS dicta on sex offender recidivism

Canada Goose sale Today New York Times has this intriguing new Sidebar article by SCOTUS reporter Adam Liptak under the headline “Did the Supreme Court Base a Ruling on a Myth?”. are excerpts: Canada Goose sale

canada goose clearance sale Last week at the Supreme Court, a lawyer made what seemed like an unremarkable point about registered sex offenders. “This court has recognized that they have a high rate of recidivism and are very likely to do this again,” said the canada goose outlet in toronto lawyer, Robert C. Montgomery, who was defending a North Carolina statute that bars sex offenders from using Facebook, Twitter and other social media services. canada goose clearance sale

canada goose canada goose outlet online uk deals The Supreme Court has indeed said the risk that sex offenders will commit new crimes is “frightening and high.” That phrase, canada goose outlet factory in a 2003 decision canada goose outlet kokemuksia upholding Alaska’s sex offender registration law, has been exceptionally influential. It has appeared in more than 100 lower court opinions, and it has helped justify laws that effectively banish registered sex offenders from many aspects of everyday life. canada goose deals

Canada Goose Jackets But there is vanishingly little evidence for the Supreme Court’s assertion that convicted sex offenders commit new offenses at very high rates. The story behind the notion, it turns out, starts with a throwaway line in a glossy magazine. Canada Goose Jackets

Canada Goose Parka Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s majority opinion in the 2003 case, Smith v. Doe, cited one of his own earlier opinions for support, and that opinion did include a startling statistic. “The rate of recidivism of untreated offenders has been estimated to be canada goose outlet woodbury as high as 80 percent,” Justice Kennedy wrote in the earlier case, McKune v. Lile. Canada Goose Parka

Canada Goose online He cited what seemed to be a good source for the statistic: “A Practitioner’s Guide to Treating the Incarcerated Male Sex Offender,” published in 1988 by the Justice Department. The guide, a compendium of papers from outside experts, is 231 pages long, and it contains lots of statistics on sex offender recidivism rates. Many of them were in the single digits, some a little higher. Only one source canada goose outlet london claimed an 80 percent rate, and the guide itself said that number might be exaggerated. Canada Goose online

canadian goose jacket The source of the 80 percent figure was http://www.canadagoosesalesus.com a 1986 article in Psychology Today, a magazine written for a general audience. “Most untreated sex offenders released from prison go on to commit more offenses indeed, as many as 80 percent do,” the article said, without evidence or elaboration. canadian goose jacket

canada goose store That’s it. The basis for much of American jurisprudence and canada goose outlet miami legislation about sex offenders was rooted in an offhand and unsupported statement in a mass market magazine, not a peer reviewed journal. canada goose store

canada goose black friday sale A 2014 Justice Department report found. sex offenders generally have low overall recidivism rates for crimes. But they are more likely to commit additional sex offenses than other criminals. In the three years after release from prison, 1.3 percent of people convicted of other kinds of crimes were arrested for sex offenses, compared to 5.3 percent of sex offenders. Those findings are broadly consistent with seven reports in various states, which found that people convicted of canada goose outlet toronto factory sex crimes committed new sex offenses at rates of 1.7 percent to 5.7 percent in time periods ranging from three to 10 years. canada goose black friday sale

canada goose clearance Lower courts generally accept what the Supreme Court says. That is true not only about the law but also about facts subject to independent verification. year, though, the federal appeals canada goose sale uk court in Cincinnati gently suggested that the Supreme Court had taken a wrong turn in its 2003 decision in Smith v. Doe. canada goose outlet store toronto Judge Alice M. Batchelder, writing for a unanimous three judge panel, described “the significant doubt cast by recent empirical studies on the pronouncement in Smith that ‘the risk of recidivism posed by sex offenders is “frightening and high.'” appeals court struck down a particularly strict Michigan sex offender law as a violation of the Constitution’s ex post facto clause, saying it retroactively imposed punishment on people who had committed offenses before the law was enacted. state has asked the Supreme Court to canada goose outlet toronto location consider the case, Does v. Snyder, No. 16 768. The first paragraph of its petition says that the risk of recidivism “remains ‘frightening and high.'” constitutional question in the case is interesting and substantial. hearing the case would allow the court to consider more fully canada goose outlet online its casual assertion that sex offenders are especially dangerous. canada goose clearance

buy canada goose jacket A general rule of thumb is to try to not put in unnecessary statements that upon scrutiny can be seriously challenged. This repeatedly is not followed, including in court opinions. “Obvious” facts were tossed in since the beginning canada goose jacket outlet store probably. buy canada goose jacket

Canada Goose Outlet Helpful to be aware of such things. Lile itself said the figure might be exaggerated. The Supreme Court very well might be joining canada goose outlet legit with others in exaggerating the risks, but to be fair here: Canada Goose Outlet

buy canada goose jacket cheap “Therapists and correctional officers widely official canada goose outlet agree canada goose outlet vip that clinical rehabilitative programs can enable sex offenders to manage their impulses and in this way reduce recidivism. See U. S. Dept. of canada goose factory outlet vancouver Justice, Nat. Institute of Corrections, A Practitioner Guide to Treating the Incarcerated Male Sex Offender xiii(1988) (“[T]he rate of recidivism of treated sex offenders is fairly consistently estimated to be around 15%,” whereas the rate of recidivism of untreated offenders has been estimated to be as high as 80%. “Even if both of these figures are exaggerated, there would still be a significant difference between treated and untreated individuals”). An important component of those rehabilitation programs requires participants to confront their past and accept responsibility for their misconduct.” buy canada goose jacket cheap

canada goose coats “Alaska could conclude that a conviction for a sex offense provides evidence of substantial risk of recidivism. The legislature findings are consistent with grave concerns over the high rate of recidivism among convicted sex offenders and their dangerousness as a class. The risk of recidivism posed by sex offenders is “frightening and high.” McKune v. Lile, 536 U. S. 24, 34 (2002); see also id., at 33 (“When convicted sex offenders reenter society, they are much more likely than any other type of offender to be rearrested for a new rape or sexual assault” (citing U. S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sex Offenses and Offenders 27 (1997); U. S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Recidivism of canada goose outlet Prisoners Released in 1983, p. He served 18 months in a Maryland jail, and his Order of Judgment and Commitment required him to serve 10 years on a Maryland Sex Offender Registry following his release. He moved to Kentucky following his release and registered as a Sex Offender here, as required by Kentucky law. He has now been registered for 12 years, but Kentucky refuses to recognize the 10 year limit set forth in his Maryland Judgment, and insist that he must remain registered for LIFE under Kentucky law. canada goose outlet parka The registered client has not had any other arrests or convictions since being released from prison. He is an expert in electronics communications, a retired Army Major (reserves) and his companies do business with the canada goose outlet official Dept. of Defense canada goose outlet black friday and Intelligence communities. Kentucky officials refuse to discuss “Full Faith and Credit” when it comes to registering sex offenders convicted under the laws of other states. He has lost his administrative appeal, and is now faced with filing suit against Kentucky LIFETIME sex offender registry requirement, as it applies to him, or moving out of Kentucky, perhaps even canada goose outlet in vancouver back to Maryland, where he no longer has a registration requirement canada goose coats.

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By admin , July 12, 2013

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