Over the past 20 years, the federal government and all 50 states have passed sex offender registration laws (SORLs) to monitor and publicize the whereabouts of “sex offenders” (people convicted of a broad range of offenses, which range in severity from child molestation to consensual sex among teenagers). Information about registrants, including their names, pictures and addresses, is posted online and, in some cases, actively distributed to neighbors, subjecting registrants to profound stigmatization and the risk of vigilantism. In many states, registrants also face restrictions on where they can live, work and travel, leading to chronic homelessness, unemployment and estrangement from loved ones, as well as the possibility of new criminal charges if they fail to comply. This panel series will examine how SORLs have affected the lives of roughly 650,000 registrants (and their families), what effect they have had on rates of offending, and how they might be reformed.

Panel 1: The Impact of SORLs on Registrants

Monday, April 6th, 12:15-1:30pm
NYU Law, Vanderbilt Hall, Room 210

Panelists: David Feige (formerly of The Bronx Defenders), David Patton (Federal Defenders of New York), Nicole Pittman (National Council on Crime and Delinquency) and Dana Wolfe (NYCLU).

Moderator: Sandra Mayson (NYU Law Furman Fellow).

Panel 2: The Impact of SORLs on Rates of Offending

Tuesday, April 7th, 12:30-1:30pm

Panelists: Elizabeth Letourneau (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), J.J. Prescott (University of Michigan Law School), and Tamara Rice Lave (University of Miami School of Law).

Moderator: Sandra Mayson (NYU Law Furman Fellow).

Panel 3: Strategies and Priorities for Reforming SORLs

Wednesday, April 8th, 12:30-1:30pm

Panelists: Brandon Buskey (ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project), Marsha Levick (Juvenile Law Center), Wayne Logan (Florida State University College of Law) and David Singleton (Ohio Justice & Policy Center).

Moderator: Sandra Mayson (NYU Law Furman Fellow)