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U.S. District Court Judge Joseph E. Irenas ruled that New Jersey cannot post the addresses of convicted sex offenders on the Internet. The state had planned on launching a web site containing a database of its sex offender registry in January 2002.

 

The web site was to be created based on an amendment to the state Constitution voted in by New Jersey citizens. The site was to feature the offenders' name, photo, address, and a description of their criminal history. The ruling only prohibits posting the address information on the site.

 

Citing privacy concerns the judge wrote that the availability of this information on the Internet " may permit numerous individuals with no legitimate public safety need to quickly ascertain an offender's precise home address."

 

The ruling comes as the result of an action filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Trenton, NJ Public Defender's Office.

 

For more information on locating criminal record information on the Internet, including sex offender registries for a variety of states, see: How Public Are Public Records

 

*In a related matter, owners of "How to Use the Internet For Legal, Business & Investigative Research" should replace the link to sex offender registries "http://www.wolfenet.com/~dhillis/sexoffen2.htm#full" with http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/register.htm in their editions:

• A Guide for Legal Professionals - 4th Edition: page 67
• A Guide for Tennessee Legal Professionals - 2nd edition: page 60

 

Update July 2002: The New Jersey Sex Offender Database is now available online.