CALENDAR: The next meeting of the Sentencing Commission will be announced shortly.

October 18, 2006
Newsday
NJ Sues Towns That Impose Too-Tough Sex Offender Restrictions

October 18, 2006
Courier Post
Death Penalty Opponents Argue Before Court

October 12, 2006
Star Ledger
Prof Wants Execution Saved For “The Worst of the Worst”

October 7, 2006
Home News Tribune
Alternatives Sought For Juveniles In Trouble

October 5, 2005
Star Ledger
Editorial: Crime, Crowding and Cost

October 6, 2006
Star Ledger
Trenton Inmates Threaten Hunger Strike

October 3, 2006
Star Ledger
12-Year-Old Caught “Playing Doctor” Ruled Megan’s Law Offender

October 2, 2006
Star Ledger
Essex Jail Has Housing Crisis

September 30, 2006
Star Ledger
Editorial: Death Penalty’s Unfairness

September 28, 2006
Star Ledger
Death Penalty Panel Hears From 10 Who Oppose Executions

September 27, 2006
Asbury Park Press
Court Mulls DNA Samples

September 27, 2006
Star Ledger
For Similar Murders, Different Sentences

September 27, 2006
Star Ledger
Judge Ends Newark’s Gun-Offender Program

October 17, 2006
New York Times
Expunged Criminal Records Live to Tell Tales

October 15, 2006
Washington Post
Death By Good Intentions

October 12, 2006
Los Angeles Times
High Court Considers System For Sentencing

October 12, 2006
New York Times
States Are Growing More Lenient In Allowing Felons To Vote

October 12, 2006
The Economist
Ingenious Punishments: A Vogue For Shaming Wrongdoers

October 10, 2006
Philadelphia Daily News
Other Cities Are Trying New Ideas

October 10, 2006
Philadelphia Daily News
Taking Aim At Recidivists: Savvy Thugs Frustrate Crime Fighters

October 10, 2006
Contra Costa Times
Judicial Discretion At Stake In High Court

October 6, 2006
Los Angeles Times
Judge Considers Constitutionality of Lethal Injection Posing Tough Questions

October 5, 2006
Los Angeles Times
State Prison Overcrowding Emergency Declared

October 4, 2006
USA Today
Baltimore Has A New Way To Treat Heroin Addicts

September 27, 2006
Wall Street Journal
Novel Police Tactic Puts Drug Markets Out of Business

Collateral Sanctions

A Decade of Reform: Felony Disenfranchisement Policy In The United States
The Sentencing Project

Apprendi & Blakely Issues

The Real (Sentencing) World: State Sentencing In The Post-Blakely Era
Professor Douglas A. Berman & Professor Steven L. Chanenson

Parole

Beyond the Prison Gates: The State of Parole in America
The Urban Institute

Probation

Rethinking Probation: Community Supervision, Community Safety
Office of Justice Programs

General Sentencing Policy

Smart Sentencing: Public Safety, Public Trust and Confidence Through Evidence-Based Dispositions
Honorable Michael H. Marcus

 

New Jersey

In The Matter of Registrant T.T., N.J. (2006)
Held: In this appeal, the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that Megan’s Law extends beyond purely sexual offenses and sweeps in other offenders who target children. And, although the Legislature used the term “sex offender” as a catchall description for all those who commit Megan’s Law offenses, the statute specifically denominates certain acts that have no sexual component as “sex offenses” subject to its purview. Accordingly, it is clear that the sexual motive engrafted by the Appellate Division as a prerequisite to Megan’s Law applicability does not exist. By its very terms, Megan’s Law denominates T.T.’s crime - the act of sexual penetration with a victim under the age of 13 years - as a predicate offense. T.T.’s sexual motivation may be relevant to his treatment and risk of re-offense and thus to tiering, but it does not affect the fact that he committed the predicate offense of aggravated sexual assault.