Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

10-15-2003

SSRN Discipline

Legal Scholarship Network; PRN Subject Matter eJournals; PSN Subject Matter eJournals; Criminal Law & Procedure eJournals; Philosophy Research Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Public Law & Legal Theory; Political Institutions eJournals; Humanities Network; Political Science Network; Political Behavior eJournals

Abstract

The quick rise of criminal offender community notification provisions popularly known as Megans Laws is among the most significant developments in late twentieth century criminal law Over a ten year period every state adopted regulations providing for registration and notification of a variety of criminal offenders Despite the high profile of these provisions commentators have thus far ignored one significant aspect of them they have a significantly disparate racial impact on AfricanAmericans This article establishes the statistical and functional disparate racial effects of these provisions It shows that on a per capita basis AfricanAmericans are overrepresented on Megans Law rolls in every jurisdiction studied It also shows that many of these provisions perpetuate historic racism within the criminal justice systemThe article then explores why despite the centrality of racial critiques in commentary about other aspects of criminal law these concerns never surfaced in the community notification debates Factors that may explain the silence around this issue include the narrow scope of equal protection doctrine failures of legislatures to demand transparency about race social phenomena such as moral panics and availability cascades and the way in which these laws were framed as white regulations Finally it offers specific suggestions of doctrinal legislative and scholarly moves that make it more likely that these racial disparities will become more transparent and thus more likely subject to full democratic discussion and debate

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