A lengthy legal battle to protect children from sex offenders in New Jersey is now headed to that states highest court. We represent the Township of Galloway, New Jersey and received word late yesterday that the New Jersey Supreme Court has granted our Petition for a Writ of Certiorari and has agreed to hear the case.
This is a very important opportunity for the states highest court to step-in and protect children from convicted sex offenders by backing a vital ordinance thats designed to keep convicted sex offenders away from young children.
The case has been underway for years. Last March, we appeared on behalf of Galloway before a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division in G.H. v. Township of Galloway, in which G.H., a convicted sex offender, challenged the validity of the Townships ordinance entitled An Ordinance of the Galloway Township Municipal Code Authorizing Sex Offender Residency Prohibition. The trial court struck down the ordinance and we appealed. The appeals court upheld the lower courts decision. We then asked the N.J. Supreme Court to take the case.
In 2005, the Township of Galloway enacted the ordinance which created a buffer zone of 2,500 feet between the residences of convicted sex offenders and places where children normally congregate, specifically, schools, playgrounds, parks and day care centers. In invalidating the law, the trial court based its decision on the rights of sexual predators to travel and live where they chose to live. The ordinance was intended to compliment Megans Law which requires anyone convicted of committing a sex crime against a minor to register in the community in which he or she resides. Megans Law was upheld by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1995. The trial court overturned the Townships buffer zones, holding that they constitute additional punishment to the sexual predator who has already paid his or her debt to society.
G.H. is represented by the ACLU of New Jersey which argued that Megans Law comprehensively regulated the post-prison behavior of sex offenders so the Township has no authority to legislate in this area. After the decision of the trial court, the Solicitor, Mayor and Town Council of the Township asked us to represent them as lead counsel in this appeal. Assisting us is local ACLJ-affiliate Demetrios Stratis, an attorney in private practice in New Jersey.
In arguments before the appeals court, we argued that Galloways buffer zones complimented Megans Law, but the ACLU argued that the ordinance would keep sexual predators from residing in large portions of the town. We noted that while it was true that sexual predators would be limited in where they could live within the town, they were not totally banned from living in the town. Under the ordinance, they were prohibited from living only in those areas which are frequented by children such as near schools, playgrounds, day care centers and parks. Unlike those who commit other crimes, there is substantial evidence that sex offenders repeat their crimes.
As noted by our Senior Northeast Counsel Vincent McCarthy: The decision in the lower court is flawed on many levels. Galloways ordinance is in agreement with New Jersey law. To say that the town may not act because the state has acted around similar issues is faulty reasoning. The town has the right and duty to act on behalf of its children if it believes that the state action is insufficient and as long as the municipalitys ordinance does not conflict with state law.
This is a vital case and now the state's highest court will have an opportunity to take corrective action. We're hopeful that the N.J. Supreme Court will apply the same balance it did when it upheld "Megan's Law" and issued a broad decision strongly supporting the rights of children.
The Galloway case now before the high court will have a dramatic impact throughout the state of New Jersey as some 115 municipalities in the state have enacted similar laws and are awaiting the outcome of this case.
At the ACLJ, we're dedicated to protect children with the type of ordinance enacted in Galloway, New Jersey. We will keep you posted as this case moves forward.