Judge blocks part of new Neb. sex offender law

I take exception to two comments made by this judge, they are:
"By and large, Nebraska has only done what Congress (and the Attorney General of the United States pursuant to a delegation from Congress) permitted or required. p-1" -and-

"In a democracy, we have legislatures to make public policy choices, and a black robe does not legitimize nullification of those legislative decisions simply because I find them dumb or distasteful. p-18"

The first, which is repeated elsewhere in the decision, because it implies that Congress is a sort of, god and can do no wrong. History proves, through a long list of unconstitutional laws enacted by Congress, that Congress is not a god and has far too often exceeded its constitutional boundaries when enacting laws (Here Congress has said "AWA Guidelines are a floor not a ceiling" such gives states the right to exceede the Congressional will, and they have done so here).

The second because it is the job of the judiciary to interpret the constitution and place limits on Congress and state legislatures when they have exceed their constitutional boundaries, and to declare an enactment unconstitutional when it is so; here the judge already believes two State provisions are unconstitutional by blocking them from enforcement.

It is this writer's belief that, this judge has not taken all "rights" into consideration, at this point in this case. It appears the judge has divided up the plaintiffs into two groups, those under some sort of state supervision, and those not under any supervision and have completed their sentences.

While I do not disagree with his decision as to the later group, I do disagree with his decision as to those under supervision. Effectively, he has said, because they are under supervision they have no constitutional rights; I strongly disagree.

There are many cases which have declared -supervision constraints on constitutional rights- to be unconstitutional. i.e, First and Fourth Amendment rights. Hopefully the Plaintiff's lawyer will seek a rehearing as to these folks and their rights.

12-31-2009 Nebraska:

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked portions of Nebraska's new sex offender registry law, including provisions that sought to monitor convicted sex offenders' computer usage and prevent them from visiting certain Web sites.

Judge Richard Kopf did leave most of the law intact, saying it came close to meeting criteria set for the state by Congress.

Kopf said lawmakers may have gone too far in two areas _ both provisions that weren't required under the federal legislation. Those provisions prohibit sex offenders from using social networking sites used by children, like MySpace and Facebook. They also require sex offenders have hardware or software installed on their computers and other electronic communication devices to monitor their activities and to consent to such searches.

Convicted sex offenders who have completed their criminal sentences and are not on probation, parole or court-ordered supervision won't be subject to those provisions, according to Kopf's ruling, which granted a limited preliminary injunction.

A phone message left Wednesday night for Stu Dornan, an attorney who sued earlier this month to challenge the revised law's constitutionality, wasn't immediately returned.

Attorney General Jon Bruning issued a statement saying he's pleased most of the changes to the law will move forward.

"These bills were designed to protect children and today's ruling is good news for the parents and children of Nebraska," he said.

The rest of the law will take effect Friday, including changes that will make public information about all sex offenders and not just those considered high-risk, as has been the state's practice.

The case stems from a federal lawsuit Dornan filed Dec. 16 on behalf of 20 sex offenders, their relatives and employers. It sought to stop the law from taking effect.

Dornan argued the new law would allow for retroactive criminal punishment, amount to double jeopardy, permit unreasonable searches and seizures, and violate the rights to due process and free speech.

Kopf emphasized in his ruling that federal courts have consistently upheld state sex offender registry legislation amid constitutional challenges.

"Bluntly put, I am unwilling to allow this suit to become a backhanded way of neutering (the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act,)" he wrote.

Nebraska lawmakers changed the law earlier this year, saying the revision was needed to comply with federal legislation passed in 2006. That legislation said that if Nebraska and other states don't publicly register all people convicted of sexual offenses and make other adjustments, they could lose out on federal grant dollars for local law enforcement.

At least 30 states have passed legislation in an effort to comply with the law and many others are studying it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. ..Source.. JEAN ORTIZ