A federal judge on Monday provided a temporary reprieve for eight sex offenders in a ruling that raises questions about the constitutionality of a new Georgia law intended to keep sex offenders away from children.
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Lawyers representing the eight men and women said they would immediately try to extend the ruling, which prevents the state from enforcing a provision that would ban sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of school bus stops, to the remaining 10,000 sex offenders on the state's registry.
DeKalb Sheriff Thomas Brown, who criticized the law as "unenforceable" last week and said all 490 sex offenders in his county would have to move, said it was unlikely that sex offenders would be arrested under the new law in DeKalb before the July 11 hearing. The process takes time and deputies have other duties, he said.
Brown criticized the new sex offender law both because of the logistical problems and because he believes it will drive sex offenders underground.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
06/27/06