grey-at-law

is that they are inflexible. A decision released this past week by the Michigan Court of Appeals is an illustration of this feature of the Michigan SOR statute. In the published opinion PEOPLE OF MI V ERIC J HESCH (opinion here) the court followed the letter of the Michigan statute and concluded that Mr. Hesch was properly denied his petition to be removed from the requirement that he continue to register as a sex offender.

Mr. Hesch was age eleven at the time that he committed the acts that led to his guilty plea to second degree criminal sexual conduct.

He sought the removal on the grounds that he was 11 years of age and had a low maturity level at the time of the offense. Defendant, age 19 at the time of his petition, presented evidence that various psychologists and psychiatrists had concluded that he is not a sexual predator and is not likely to commit another sex crime. Defendant did not have any subsequent arrests or convictions for criminal sexual conduct or related offenses.

But by the letter of the law, these mitigating factors are irrelevant. (more…)

ABC News: Read John Stossel’s Latest Weekly E-Mail

Mar. 6, 2008
This Friday on “20/20″ at 10 p.m. ET, we preview my next special, Age of Consent, airing next Friday, March 14.

Our government wants to protect our children from sexual predators. States have passed laws to try to keep molesters far away. But as so often happens with so many laws, there are unintended consequences. (more…)