Still up in the air...
Federal judge still considering sex offender challenge
07/25/2006 -
By Greg Bluestein
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — A federal judge has until today to decide whether to extend a temporary order that blocks a Georgia law banning sex offenders from living near school bus stops.
U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper’s ruling could decide the fate of the provision, which prevents sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of the stops. Extending the order would prevent the provision from taking effect until a class-action lawsuit is argued, which could take months.
In a federal lawsuit filed last month, the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights contends the law renders vast tracts of Georgia’s residential areas off-limits to Georgia’s roughly 11,000 offenders.
During two days of hearings in federal court, the civil rights attorneys wielded maps of Georgia counties, marked with brightly colored splotches, to show how the new law could banish sex offenders from most areas. Sarah Geraghty, the center’s staff attorney, called it a ‘‘mass forced exodus.’’
State attorneys argue that the provision, which prevents sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of the stops, is necessary to protect children. They also disputed claims that sex offenders would be forced to move, arguing that many of the state’s bus stops don’t meet the letter of the law, which requires that each stop be officially designated by the school board.
‘‘I don’t know where the sky is falling mentality came from, but it spread like wildfire,’’ state attorney Devon Orland told the judge at a hearing this month. ‘‘One sheriff talked to another and there they went.’’
The law, which Georgia lawmakers passed overwhelmingly, is the only one in the nation that bans offenders from living and working near school bus stops, the center’s lawyers said.
Cooper’s order last month only covered the school bus stop provision and allowed the rest of the law to take effect July 1.
07/25/2006 -
By Greg Bluestein
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — A federal judge has until today to decide whether to extend a temporary order that blocks a Georgia law banning sex offenders from living near school bus stops.
U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper’s ruling could decide the fate of the provision, which prevents sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of the stops. Extending the order would prevent the provision from taking effect until a class-action lawsuit is argued, which could take months.
In a federal lawsuit filed last month, the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights contends the law renders vast tracts of Georgia’s residential areas off-limits to Georgia’s roughly 11,000 offenders.
During two days of hearings in federal court, the civil rights attorneys wielded maps of Georgia counties, marked with brightly colored splotches, to show how the new law could banish sex offenders from most areas. Sarah Geraghty, the center’s staff attorney, called it a ‘‘mass forced exodus.’’
State attorneys argue that the provision, which prevents sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of the stops, is necessary to protect children. They also disputed claims that sex offenders would be forced to move, arguing that many of the state’s bus stops don’t meet the letter of the law, which requires that each stop be officially designated by the school board.
‘‘I don’t know where the sky is falling mentality came from, but it spread like wildfire,’’ state attorney Devon Orland told the judge at a hearing this month. ‘‘One sheriff talked to another and there they went.’’
The law, which Georgia lawmakers passed overwhelmingly, is the only one in the nation that bans offenders from living and working near school bus stops, the center’s lawyers said.
Cooper’s order last month only covered the school bus stop provision and allowed the rest of the law to take effect July 1.
posted by Austin O. Jones | 9:12 PM
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