A Maryland court was forced to confront the issue of how homeless sex offenders can comply with the requirements of that state's registry requirements. Their answer? Homeless sex offenders are exempt:
Sex offenders who are homeless are exempt from laws requiring them to register a change of address with state officials, Maryland’s high court ruled Wednesday.
The Maryland Court of Appeals said in a pair of unanimous rulings that it would be impossible for the homeless to comply with provisions of the state sex offender registry.
I wonder how this problem is addressed in the probation context (if anyone knows, please email me). The article notes that Washington has specific statutory rules governing homeless sex offenders. I expect we will see other states without specific homelessness provisions (which I think is most states) confronting similar lawsuits.
Thanks to eAdvocate for letting me know about these cases.
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