Court: Sex offender can challenge internet restrictions
A convicted sex offender banned from using the internet won a victory in New Jersey’s top court on Tuesday in a case that echoes a larger battle being fought elsewhere in the U.S.
While the New Jersey Supreme Court didn’t address the constitutionality of the internet ban, it characterized it as “overbroad” and ruled the plaintiff deserved a full parole board hearing.
“I think the court found the appropriate balance and realized the importance of the internet in today’s world,” said attorney Michael Woyce, who represented the plaintiff. “I think when many of these statutes were passed, the internet wasn’t so prolific, and the court is getting around to recognizing this.”
The case has similarities to a North Carolina case recently
argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in which a convicted sex offender mounted a First Amendment challenge to a state law prohibiting him from access to social networking sites known to be used by minors. A ruling is expected this spring.
Internet restrictions are common in the U.S., though the specifics often vary, Woyce said.
They also aren’t applied uniformly. Ronald Chen, a co-dean of Rutgers Law School who argued the New Jersey case as a friend of the court, noted recent federal case law has held that it’s “extremely difficult for the government to justify widespread restrictions for access to the internet,” unless there is a compelling reason or unless an offender used the internet for the crime for which he was convicted.
In the New Jersey case, the plaintiff, identified only as “J.I.”, was convicted in 2003 of sexual assault and child endangerment in the molestation of his two daughters. He was committed to an adult treatment center.