ACLJ Appeals Decision That Forbids NJ Town from Regulating Where Convicted Sex Offenders May Live

February 22, 2007

Case Raises the Question: Do Convicted Felons Have More Rights Than New Jersey's Children?

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2007Atlantic County is home to beautiful beaches, a pristine wetland habitat, and (as is true of nearly every county in the nation) convicted sex offenders. Atlantic County is also the home of a raging battle over the rights of children vs. the rights of felons.
 
In Superior Court on Feb. 5, Judge Valerie Armstrong issued a ruling that will, in effect, ban Galloway Township from restricting where convicted sex offenders may live. In ruling on the case brought by a convicted child molester, Judge Armstrong said that Galloways ordinances violated the home rule provisions of the New Jersey Constitution. Armstrong ruled that Galloway does not have jurisdiction to create buffer zonesareas where convicted sex offenders would be prevented from livingaround child-friendly places such as schools and public parks because the state legislature has already acted in the matter by passing Megan's Law. In her estimation, the local authority's action was preempted by the state's action.
 
The decision by Judge Armstrong in G. H. plaintiff vs. Township of Galloway (defendant) is flawed on many levels, said Vincent McCarthy, a senior attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice. Galloways ordinances are in general agreement with New Jersey law. To say that the county may not act because the state has acted around similar issues is faulty reasoning, said McCarthy. The county has a right and a duty to act on behalf of its children if it believes that the states action is insufficient as long as the municipality's ordinance does not conflict with the state law.
 
The case is being appealed by the Township which is represented by the ACLJ, which specializes in constitutional law.  The appeal was filed on Feb. 20.
 
The people of New Jersey understand that the rights of innocent children should not be sacrificed to accommodate the desires of convicted sex offenders, said McCarthy. The children of New Jersey deserve better than Judge Armstrongs ruling. Well continue the fight to ensure they get it.
 
Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice specializes in constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.