HASTE MAKES WASTE: A CALL TO REVAMP NEW JERSEY’S MEGAN’S LAW LEGISLATION AS-APPLIED TO JUVENILES

New Jersey must revamp its Megan’s Law legislation as it applies to juvenile offenders. The New Jersey Legislature hastily enacted its Megan’s Law scheme in 1994 and failed to consider several important differences between adult sex offenders and juvenile sex offenders, including their respective recidivism rates and amenability to treatment. The current legislation violates the substantive component of the Federal Constitution’s Due Process Clause because it infringes upon the fundamental right of juveniles to be free from wide-scale, state- imposed stigmatizations. View More