Under Megan's Law - the collective name given
to a series of laws governing sex offenders who are living in
the community or are about to be released from imprisonment-- law
enforcement and the community are notified about the
presence of a sex offender. The process of notification begins
with registration of offenders. Persons committing one of the
list of offenses covered by the Act are required to register with
local law enforcement. The registration process
involves providing law enforcement with information about an offender's
background, address, and name of employer.
Based upon the registration background information, local county
prosecutors classify registrants as either Tier 1 (low risk),
Tier 2 (moderate risk), or Tier 3 (high risk). Once a proposed
Tier level and scope of notification is determined, a hearing
is scheduled. Community notification is permitted to be disseminated
only after a hearing in which a Superior Court Judge determines
whether the State's proposed Tier level and scope of notification
has been proven "by clear and convincing evidence."
The State provides two types of notification simultaneously for
many offenders. The first type of notice is that which is disseminated
directly by the State to law enforcement, schools, community groups
and/or to individual community members. The second type of notification
is that which is disseminated over the Internet via the State's
Sex Offender Internet Registry.
Under the direct form of notification, for Tier one offenders,
notification is given only to the local police. Tier 2 offenders
have direct notification go, in addition to local law enforcement,
to schools, daycare centers and other community organizations
that provide care for children or adults. Notification under this
system can only go to those schools and organizations deemed by
a court to be "likely to encounter the registrant."
For Tier 3 offenders direct notification goes to all persons and
groups receiving Tier 2 notice and to all neighbors of the registrant
in the community who a court determines are "likely to encounter"
him. Each time a registrant moves to a new residence s/he must
re-register with local law enforcement authorities and the direct
notification process, following a new hearing, is repeated.
In addition to notice going to persons "likely to encounter"
an offender, notification is also disseminated under the State's
Sex Offender Internet Registry Act (N.J.S.A. 2C:7-12, et seq.)
for offenders who fall into several categories. The Internet Registry
contains information pertaining to Tier 3 (high risk) offenders
and, with certain exceptions, information pertaining to Tier 2
(moderate risk) offenders for whom a court orders community notification.
The Internet Registry contains no information about offenders
determined to be a Tier 1 (low risk) and for those Tier 2 (moderate
risk) offenders as to whom a court ordered no notification (i.e.,
Tier 2 offenders with Tier 1 scope of notification). The Internet
Registry Act also contains three exceptions. It excludes Tier
2 offenders whose sole offense was committed as 1) a juvenile,
2) an incest offense, or 3) an offense where the victim consented
but was underage (e.g. statutory rape). The law also provides
for an override that would allow the inclusion on the Internet
Registry of a Tier 2 offender who falls under one of the above
three exceptions where the State proves by clear and convincing
evidence that the risk posed to the general public posed by the
offender is substantially similar to that posed by offenders whose
risk of re-offense is moderate.
The particular information contained on the Internet Registry
is similar but not identical to the information provided in the
community notification flyers distributed to those "likely
to encounter" an offender. The information currently provided
under the Internet Registry includes: the offender's name and
any aliases used by the offender; any Megan's Law sex offenses
committed by the offender, including a brief description and the
date and location of disposition of any such offense; a general
description of the offender's modus operandi, if any; the determination
of whether the risk of re-offense by the offender is moderate
or high; the offender's age, race, sex, date of birth, height,
weight, hair, eye color and any distinguishing scars or tattoos;
a photograph of the offender and the date on which the photograph
was entered into the registry; the make, model, color, year and
license plate number of any vehicle operated by the offender;
and the county in which the offender resides. The Internet Registry
information does not include an offender's street address, zip
code, or municipality as the result of an injunction obtained
by the Public Defender's Office. In addition the Internet Registry
does not include information about an offender's place of employment
or schooling which is contained in the State's notification system
provided to those "likely to encounter" the offender.
The Special Hearings Unit operates from four regional offices:
Trenton (covering Burlington, Hunterdon, Mercer, Somerset and
Warren counties); Newark (covering Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris,
Passaic, and Sussex counties);
Monmouth (covering Middlesex, Monmouth Union and Ocean counties);
and Camden (covering Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester
and Salem counties).
The Unit has also handled class action constitutional challenges
to Megan's Law since its inception. These cases include E.B et
al. v. Verniero, 119 F.3d 1077 (3d Cir 1998), which held that
the State has the burden of proofing a registrant's tier level
by clear and convincing evidence in Megan's Law hearings. In addition,
the Unit handled the case of Paul P. v. Verniero, 170 F.3d 396
(3d Cir. 1999), wherein the U. S. Court of Appeal for the Third
Circuit held that all New Jersey residents have a protected privacy
interest in their home address. As a result of this litigation
the State has developed a series of safeguards designed to protect
against disclosures of Megan's Law information to persons unauthorized
to receive them. Recently, in A.A. v. State of New Jersey, 176
F. Supp. 2d 274 (D.N.J. 2001) a legal challenge to the State's
Internet Registry Act, the Public Defender obtained a preliminary
injunction excluding all home address information from the Internet
Registry.
In addition, Special Hearings Unit attorneys also have addressed
the issue of Community Supervision for Life, a provision of Megan's
Law which has resulted in registrants being unable to leave the
State for any reason, to obtain employment, attend
school, or live with family members.
