CA - Judge says L.A. County parolees aren’t subject to Jessica’s Law

Original Article

09/01/2010

By Kelly Davis

Registered sex offenders on parole in L.A. County will no longer be subject to Jessica’s Law’s (PDF) residency restrictions, per a ruling yesterday by L.A. County Superior Court Supervising Judge Peter Espinoza.

In his ruling (pdf), Espinoza points out that the court’s received 300 petitions asking for relief from the law and “dozens of parolees continue to file new petitions every week.” The petitions argue that in L.A. County, there’s virtually no affordable housing that complies with Jessica’s Law’s requirement that registered sex offenders—regardless of offense—reside at least 2,000 feet from parks and schools.

“It is now abundantly clear to the court that the question of the constitutionality of Penal Code Section 3003.5(b) ‘is a recurring problem important to other parolees and CDCR,’” Espinoza writes.

Espinoza argues that because filing a petition requires the assistance of legal counsel, “In the interests of equity and judicial economy, the Court now deems it appropriate to consider the procedural rights of all similarly situated parolees….” In other words, if some parolees have been able to get a stay of enforcement, all parolees should be granted a stay.

In this week’s CityBeat, I wrote about a five-block section of San Diego that’s become home to an unknown number of homeless sex offenders on parole. Laura Arnold, a deputy public defender, is doing what lawyers in L.A. County have been doing—filing petitions with the court on behalf of parolees who would have a place to live if not for the residence restrictions. Experts on sex-offender management have said repeatedly that there’s no connection between where a person lives and whether that person will re-offend. For a good overview of the issue, see the California Sex Offender Management Board’s 2008 report, “Homelessness Among Registered Sex Offenders in California (PDF).” Espinoza sits on the board.

The L.A. ruling doesn’t apply to any other county in the state and, Arnold told me, the California Attorney General’s office has the option of appealing Espinoza’s ruling. I’ve put in a call to the California Department of Corrections to get a response.