18 Mar 2010
State Can Dump Non-Sex Offenders Into Registry

You wanna know why the law gets no respect these days? Because apparently Humpty Dumpty is making the law, where a word means exactly what he says it means, and not whatever everybody else thinks it means. In Georgia (under Federal mandate) they've defined criminal confinement as a sex offense. And the Georgia courts have upheld this definition:

“Rainer’s belief that the term ’sexual offender’ may only apply to offenders who commit sexual offenses against minors does not change the fact that the definition provided in the statute, and not the definition that Rainer wishes to impose upon the statute, controls,” the court’s majority said.

Basically, they're saying that the legislature could define jaywalking as a sex offense, and thereafter all jaywalkers would be placed on what essentially amounts to lifelong probation, with residency restrictions. I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes (from Malcolm X) - "You can put a shoe in an oven, but that doesn't make it a biscuit."

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master— that's all."

Welcome to Wonderland.

Georgia’s Supreme Court is upholding the government’s right to put non-sex offenders on the state’s sex-offender registry, highlighting a little-noticed (but growing) nationwide practice.

(link) [Wired]

08:04 /Politics | 2 comments | permanent link