Interesting case being argued tommorrow in MO Supreme Court

[MadHound]

Missouri, like the rest of the states in the US, enacted a sexual offender registration act in the mid '90s. Many people, both on this board and nationwide have justly complained that such lists are applied in too broad a manner, punishing both actual pedophiles and those who committed lesser crimes(17 y/o having consensual sex with 15 y/o girlfriend, etc.) On January 10th the Missouri Supreme Court will be hearing just such a case, Jane Doe I, et al. v. Thomas Phillips et al. In this, the woman Doe, who was twenty y/o at the time was convicted of having sex with a minor boy, even though at the time she thought the boy was eighteen, and even though the sex was consensual.

I think that this is an important case, one that could reign in these abuses of the sex offenders list. It could set precedence for other states, or even be argued up the line to the US Supreme Court and set precedence for the entire nation. Hopefully the Justices will see the folly of such broad based generalizations of who appears on such lists and will take action to reign in these abuses along with setting serious guidelines about who can and cannot appear on sex offenders list.

If you wish to read the full set of briefs you can do so here, the case is Jane Doe I, et al. v. Thomas Phillips et al.<http://www.courts.mo.gov/SUP/index.nsf/fe8feff4659e0b7b8625699f0079eddf/df4e0fdaf242b461862570d20059ffb4?OpenDocument>

Hopefully this will be the first step in restoring sanity to a situation that has spiraled out of control.

[MadHound]

1. Kick for anybody interested