News of the Day, Friday, December 14, 2007

• That GA Supreme Court ruling that said sex offender residency restriction laws are unconstitutional “takings” of property only apply to offenders who own their home, not those who rent. That “phew” you hear is the proponents of the restrictions. You’re not hearing the “aw, geez” of the law enforcement guys who now have to take time from their regular duties to go out and track all the renters down again. My bet is that those renters will all have addresses under a bridge.
• Speaking of unconstitutional, remember how HA was going ahead with a possibly unconstitutional law allowing defendants to be sentenced by juries beyond the legally prescribed ranges if they’re big threats? May be a pretty moot point. The first case ended in a mistrial with the foreman saying that juries really don’t have the expertise to make those decisions.
• Building prisons and trying to keep recidivism down at the same time in VA, which really is one of the best states on this in the country. If they’re concerned about their situation, we all likely have problems. . . .