Georgia Sex Offender Act and National Sex Offender Laws   Tags: criminal_law, georgia_law  

In February of 2005, a 9-year old Florida child by the name of Jessica Lungsford was abducted from her home, raped, then buried alive by John E. Couey. At the time, Couey was a convicted sex offender living nearby to the child's residence. Couey later confessed to kidnapping and killing the girl and burying her in a shallow grave. In the twelve months that followed, tragic news of national headline-grabbing cases of crimes against children spread across the country.

In the recent months, no single category of criminal has received more media attention than sex offenders. Recent headlines about the particularly heinous of rape and murder of children have led legislatures across the country to propose tougher sex offender laws that require sex offender registration, restrict where sex offenders can live, and attempt to address increasing concerns about public safety.

The increased public concern over the release of convicted sex offenders has led to the enactment of statutes all over the nation with respect to the criminal prosecution of sex offenders, mandatory registration of offenders ,and community notification.

As the laws of the Nation, and States, become more restrictive for Sex Offenders and those that have committed crimes against children, the case law and available resources will broaden and develop into a tremendous doctrine of how the government can, and can not impede the rights of the individual. Developments in this area of the law change drastically, daily. Comprehensive and up to date research will be necessary to gain an understanding of this developing aspect of the law.

This website has been prepared to provide a researcher "starting point" or primer for understanding the Ga. Acts 2006, no. 571 (Georgia House Bill 1059), also called the "Georgia Sex Offender Act", and the "Georgia Child Protection Act", that went into effect on July 1, 2006, and the current Constitutional challenges that have been raised in Federal and State Court.

In addition, this guide will also provide the reader with an overview of Federal and State enacted Sex Offender laws enacted throughout the United States.

Bibliographies on this Web site were prepared for educational purposes by law students as part of Nancy P. Johnson's Advanced Legal Research course. The Law Library does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided. Thorough legal research requires a researcher to update materials from date of publication; please note the semester and year the bibliography was prepared.