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74 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1451 (1999)
Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood--Due Process, Public Protection, and Sex Offender Notification Laws

handle is hein.journals/nylr74 and id is 1467 raw text is: WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? DUE PROCESS, PUBLIC PROTECTION, AND SEX OFFENDER NOTIFICATION LAWS JANE A. SM AL* All fifty states have enacted sex offender registration acts (SORAs). In addition to requiring registration with the state, these laws usually provide for the notification of an individual's status as a sex offender-along with t1e dissemination of per- sonal information-to law enforcement officials and members of the community. In this Note, Jane Small argues for enhanced due process protections for offenders when they are required to register. Since SORAs are not aimed at punishment but rather community protection, they are civil, not criminal, statutes and the due pro- cess standard for civil proceedings, as announced in Mathews v. Eldridge, ought to be applied. That standard requires a court to weigh the risk of depriving an indi- vidual of a protected interest against the governmental interest embodied in a par- ticular procedure Small surveys SORAs' problems, including the inappropriately generalized categorization of sex offenders and the danger notification poses to in- dividual offenders, and outlines recent cases applying the Mathews standard to as- sess the constitutionality of SORAs. Site then evaluates available procedural protections and current notification mechanisms for their compliance with the re- quirements of Mathews. Size concludes that an individualized, fact.spedfic assess- ment must be made in every case and that the proceedings must be narrowly geared to the legitimate aim of SORAs-conununity protection-in order not to infringe on the individual's interests any more than is necessary to achieve that aim. INTRODUCTION In the wake of several well-publicized and gruesome sexual as- saults on children,' legislatures across the country acted quickly to * I would like to thank Professor Paul Chevigny, Michael Gat, and the 1998-1999 Note Pool for their help in developing this piece. I would also like to thank the entire staff of the New York University Law Review for their hard work and insightful critiques. Special thanks are due to Dan Reynolds, Andy Weinstein, Derek Ludwin, Troy McKenzie, and Inna Reznik for their outstanding editing. Finally, I would like to thank my family and George Sanderson for their enthusiasm, understanding, encouragement, and support. 1 Several tragic incidents prompted the passage of many sex offender laws. The list that follows is by no means exhaustive. On July 29,1994, Megan Kanka was killed by Jesse Tunmendequas, who first lured Megan into his house by promising to let her see his puppy, and then strangled and sexually assaulted her. See Ralph Siegel, Suspect Admits Killing Girl, Record (Hackensack, NJ.), Aug. 2, 1994, at Al, available in 1994 WL 776S092. Amanda Wengert, a six-year old, was murdered by Kevin Aquino, a convicted sex of- fender. See Sue Epstein, Shore Defendant Admits Killing Little Amanda, Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ.), July 27, 1995, at 20. Seven-year-old Divina Genao was raped and mur- dered by Conrad Jeffery, who had recently been released from prison. See Colleen Mancino, Jeffrey's Murder Trial Starting, Record (Hackensack, NJ.), Sept. 14, 1995, at N1, 1451 Imaged with the Permission of N.Y.U. Law Review

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