The Emerging Criminal War on Sex Offenders
Yung, Corey Rayburn
Yung, Corey Rayburn
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Abstract
This article addresses four central questions. First, what is the difference between normal law enforcement policy and a “war” on crime? Second, assuming such a line can be discerned, has the enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (“AWA”) in combination with other sex offender laws triggered a transition to a criminal war on sex criminals? Third, if such a criminal war is emerging, what will be the likely effects of such a transition? Fourth, if such a criminal war is emerging with substantial negative consequences, how can it be stopped?
By reviewing America’s history of criminal wars, primarily the War on Drugs, the article identifies three essential characteristics of a criminal war: marshalling of resources, myth creation, and exception making. It concludes that the federalization of sex offender policy brought about by the AWA has turned what was conventional law enforcement into a nascent criminal war on sex crimes. This change can have repercussions as substantial as the drug war has had on American criminal justice and society.
Description
Full-text available at SSRN. See link in this record.
Date
2010
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Harvard Law School
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Keywords
Sex offenders, Criminal justice, War on drugs, War on crime, Walsh, Adam, Commerce clause, Ex post facto clause, Due process, Confrontation clause
Citation
Corey Rayburn Yung, The Emerging Criminal War on Sex Offenders, 45 HARV. C.R.-C.L. L. REV. 435 (2010).