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By ROBIN VANDERWALL . . . In one of the most poorly cobbled epistles of opinion these eyes have beheld, the Roanoke Rapid Daily Herald‘s editorial staff has decided that something really must be done to close a “loophole” (it’s always a loophole, isn’t it?) in North Carolina’s sex offender registration statutes. A Daily Herald editorial claims that current law […]

Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald suggests 24-hour registration window

By DAVID BOOTH . . . On June 19, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the value of social media as a pervasive news source and a socially ingrained forum for exchanging communications when it struck down an overreaching North Carolina statute. The North Carolina law under consideration made it a felony for any person on the sex […]

Sex offenders have First Amendment right to Internet, social media

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A CBC Editorial . . . It is becoming all too familiar. If it’s Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will declare another North Carolina law unconstitutional. It’s no joke. This most recent Monday a UNANIMOUS Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a 2008 law that banned convicted sex offenders visiting social-networking websites that allow minors to become members or to create personal […]

WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting blast General Assembly’s unconstitutional habits

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By ROBIN VANDERWALL . . . In a broadly worded opinion penned by Justice Kennedy, a unanimous Supreme Court has closed the door on laws restricting access to the internet and social media forums by Americans who were convicted of a crime but who are no longer serving a criminal sentence. In reversing the N.C. Supreme Court’s decision in Packingham […]

SCOTUS slaps NC Supreme Court, unanimously strikes social media ban

By STEVEN YODER . . . Last week, an Oregonian article disclosed that Oregon State University Beavers ace pitcher Luke Heimlich had been found responsible at age 15 of sexually molesting a 6-year-old relative. Heimlich’s offense was serious. So was his punishment given that he was underage. He got two years’ probation, with the threat of 40 weeks in detention […]

Incongruous outcomes in baseball: Luke Heimlich v. Matt Bush

By DAVID BOOTH . . . Luke Heimlich made headlines this week after a missed registration deadline presented the Oregonian with an opportunity to revisit his past misdeed. Until his past was dredged up, Luke, a rising college baseball player, was slated to be a first day pick for the major league amateur draft. Predictably, there was immediate backlash with […]

One Strike and You’re Out: Is Redemption Possible for Luke Heimlich?

By SANDI ROZEK . . . In a recent book club discussion group, as a preface to our next assigned selection, the leader read Zechariah 9:16 and opened a discussion about how every human life has value and is seen by its creator as a precious jewel and a treasure. The discussion continued as he challenged us to think of […]

America’s game: Eternal recrimination and shame

By JAMIE MARKHAM . . . Under G.S. 14-208.16, a registered sex offender may not reside “within 1,000 feet of the property on which any public or nonpublic school or child care center is located.” What’s the right way to measure those 1,000 feet? As the crow flies? Property line to property line? Building to building? The statute is susceptible […]

A thousand feet from where, officer?

By MICHAEL ROSENBERG . . . I want to first say that I am tired of watching the registered citizens in my sex offender class pay for the privilege of being interrogated. Tired even more of having to watch as their truthfulness and willingness to honestly participate are questioned. Those guys are my favorites, and one day, the truth about […]

Brain-based fact or interrogator’s fiction?

By JAMIE MARKHAM . . . North Carolina requires certain people to register as sex offenders in North Carolina for crimes committed in other states. But what if a person has completed his or her term of registration in another state before moving here? Can North Carolina require the person to register again? The definition of “reportable conviction”—which is to […]

Registration requirements inconsistent & incomprehensible from state to state

By MICHAEL ROSENBERG . . . I see little in life that looks like a sex offender registry with its incumbent restrictions. School was tough when I didn’t have friends, and life can look a little bleak when I look around now at my limited social experiences. Yet while I have to skip many events that take place within shouting […]

Simple: sex offender registries are instruments of oppression

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By ADAM LIPTAK . . . 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 lawyer, Robert C. Montgomery, who was defending a North Carolina statute that bars […]

New York Times: “Vanishingly” little evidence of high re-offense rate