Judge blocks keeping tabs on perverts

The State will not be able to monitor 3,000 registered New York sex offenders whose registration period is about to expire, according to a federal court ruling last week.
Judge Denny Chin of Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled that the State does not have the right to extend the time Level 1 and Level 2 sex offenders must register their home and work addresses. In January, lawmakers passed a bill to force the lesser offenders to register for an additional 10 years for crimes committed prior to 1996 - 20 years in total - and Level 2 offenders, who the State says are more likely to repeat their actions, to register for life.
However, the law contradicts a previous deal made with the Legal Aid Society, who represented 4,400 sex offenders. The deal allowed the 3,000 lesser offenders to be removed from the state listing after 10 years, and as the expiration date approached, state lawmakers rushed to extend the time with the law.
“In simplest terms, a contract is a contract,” the judge wrote, according to previously published reports. New York “cannot be permitted to unilaterally rewrite the contract and ignore a judgment of the court merely because the contract was with individuals convicted of serious crimes.”
Several state lawmakers hope to appeal the decision by the end of the year when the 3,000 offenders’ registration period is set to expire. Chin placed a seven-day hold on the ruling, which will end Thursday, April 20.
Meanwhile, New York State parents may have a new tool to ensure that their children do not venture too close to the homes and workplaces of registered sex offenders. The device, which will be equipped with a Global Positioning System programmed with addresses for registered sex offenders, will alert parents via e-mail, text message, or pager if their child travels too close to one of the locations.
Expected to be released within the next two months, the phone will cost $19.99 a month. Created by the Family Watchdog group and CATS Communication Inc., the phone is one of the newest Nextel wireless devises.