California Supreme Court rules for parolees who challenged housing restrictions for sex offenders
A California law restricting housing locations for sex offenders is unconstitutional as applied to parolees in San Diego, the California Supreme Court has ruled.
The 2006 law, dubbed Jessica’s Law, had barred sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools or parks. In an opinion (PDF) on Monday, the state supreme court said that provision had infringed the liberty and privacy interests of the sex offenders who challenged the law and similarly situated sex offenders in San Diego County. The Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune have stories.
“Blanket enforcement of the residency restrictions against these parolees has severely restricted their ability to find housing in compliance with the statute, greatly increased the incidence of homelessness among them, and hindered their access to medical treatment, drug and alcohol dependency services, psychological counseling and other rehabilitative social services available to all parolees,” the court said.
