Megan’s Law Explained
Megan’s Law, a federal law originally passed in 1996, requires each state to establish a sex offender registry and to make this registry available to the general public. After the passage of the law, an amendment created the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which broadened the sex offender registry. The law was enacted after the tragic abduction, sexual assault, and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka of Trenton, New Jersey. Her neighbor had been a convicted sex offender, and was known to the local law enforcement but not to the public. The outrage of the public led to the passing of the law.
In 2011 , Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law was updated. All registration requirements now fall under the Pennsylvania State Police Megan’s Law Registration website. The Pennsylvania Megan’s Law includes four different substantiable offenses: persons that are required to register; individuals convicted of sex offenses; offenders that are required to register in another state and moved to Pennsylvania; and offenders from the U.S. Armed Services that are considered sexually violent predators or sexually violent delinquents, convicted of an offense and moved to Pennsylvania.
Who Can File
Before filing a petition to get your name removed from the Megan’s Law registry, you must first meet certain eligibility criteria.
As a general rule, you will only be eligible to petition for removal if:
Someone on probation or parole is not eligible until they have completed all terms and conditions of their probation or parole and completed all of their other state-mandated obligations according to the Megan’s Law.
If you are currently incarcerated, you cannot petition for removal and there is no way to petition for it while in prison.
In addition to these legal requirements, you will need to meet some personal requirements as well. You cannot have committed another crime, for which you have been charged, indicted or convicted, since you went under sentencing for your Megan’s Law offense. This includes a misdemeanor or felony.
Legal Process
In Pennsylvania, a person may be eligible for relief from registration under Megan’s Law if he or she petitioned the court and meets different criteria. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that there is not a constitutional right to a hearing before registration. Therefore, the registration only occurs after the appropriate hearing. Before obtaining relief, a person must file a petition with the Common Pleas Court in the judicial district where the person resides or the county of conviction. A petition after conviction must be filed no later than 25 years after conviction. Importantly, a petition after conviction may not be filed for at least five years after the person is required to register. The procedure for a petition is to file a motion with the court. Upon a showing of prima facie eligibility for relief, the court will hold a hearing. If relief is granted, the registration obligation will be removed.
Documentary and Evidentiary Requirements
In order to support a petition for removal or termination from the Megan’s Law registry, there are certain levels of evidence, documentation, and records that a registrant must obtain. First and foremost, is the physical evidence of the passage of the required time period, which is 10 years for individuals convicted of Megan’s Law offenses. Individuals who have been adjudicated a sexually violent predator, as defined under Megan’s Law, the amount of time required is 25 years. Part of the evidence necessary, however, is the most recent notification letter received by the registrant. This notification letter will have the tier designation on the top right corner of the letter, along with the last date the individual appeared and registered with their local police department. For example, if you were required to register every year by your Megan’s Law classification, your last date of registration with your local police department should be at least 10 or 25 years in the past, depending on your Megan’s Law classification. The petition to remove your name from Megan’s Law will require no less than the last 10 years of notice letters. If you have a notice letter showing five years before the date of removal, this can be helpful as well. The notification letters will contain all the details of the offenses charged against the individual. Without such notice, we would not know the dates of registration. The notice letters are very useful, especially if an individual is required to remove their name in Pennsylvania during his/her confinement in prison (not probation). Such circumstances are extremely rare to occur. The notice letters will show when the individual’s probation ends, and how many times s/he is required to register. Evidence in support of a petition for removal, showing an individual was not required to appear in accordance with his/her reporting requirements, can be obtained from the individual’s local Megan’s Law police department and the Pennsylvania State Police. In this age of technology, several steps can be taken to obtain proper evidence in support of your case. This includes printouts of police records, just like printouts of criminal convictions. Additionally, both the Pennsylvania State Police Megan’s Law website and the Megan’s Law registry should not list the individual’s name in instances where the individual was removed per the law.
Experienced Attorney’s Role
Having a qualified legal expert at your side during the process of filing for removal from the Megan’s Law registry in Pennsylvania can make or break your case. Pennsylvania Megan’s Law is an incredibly complex legal matter—and having an attorney who is familiar with this particular area of law can help you navigate the legal process efficiently, increasing the odds of a successful petition to have your name removed from the registry.
An attorney will be able to walk you through what your legal options are and how to best handle your particular filing situation. Furthermore, a legal expert will be able to assist you with the papers you file with the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law Attorney and ensure that no additional evidence is required for appeals , which could help you avoid long delays in the removal of your name from the registry. A specialized attorney will be able to provide assistance when it comes to any additional convictions or sexual offenses that have occurred in other states. In many cases, a court ordered removal of a name from the registry is contingent on the successful removal of the name from the other state’s registry. An attorney will also be able to guide you through the appeals process, if your request to be removed from the Megan’s Law registry has been denied. In some cases, a dismissal may require an in-person appearance in front of a state board. An in-person appearance makes it much more likely that an experienced lawyer will be able to help you secure a successful outcome to your filing.
Common Hurdles and Solutions
As with all legal processes, getting your name off the Megan’s Law registry isn’t without its challenges. Possibly the biggest of these is assuming that the Board will automatically see the merits of your application. The Board will carefully review your application and make determinations accordingly. Sometimes, even after you’ve met the criteria, the Board may decide not to grant exemption. In such cases, you would have to try again the next year within that 12 month time limit. You will get the opportunity for a hearing before the Board when you reapply. Additionally, should your application be denied again, you have the option to appeal your case to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.
You will also face obstacles if you either miss the filing deadline or forget to include required documents. If this happens, you will need to file the application a second time, which means you will need to wait another year to have your name removed. It is also possible that the Department of Corrections could oppose your petition to be removed from Megan’s Law Registry, in which case your attorney can help you fight against this.
Outcomes Post-Petition
Once the petition has been filed with the appropriate court and agency, the courts will send information of any such filing to the Megan’s Law office in PA and the Attorney General’s office. The Judge will then hold a hearing regarding your petition and two possible outcomes can occur. The first is that the Judge will approve your request to be removed from the registry. That means change for the better for you. Now, if you were to file it yourself and get lucky and have your request approved, the Megan’s Law office will likely notice it and you will then have to go back before a judge again for a hearing. In either instance of having your request approved, the Megan’s Law staff in PA will look into your background as a matter of course and they can present their findings to the judge at the hearing . The judge and the district attorney or the probation officer for the district you live in can present any evidence to the court to show that you may not deserve to have your registration requirement terminated. The judge will then consider all of this evidence presented by all parties before making the final decision.
The second outcome of the hearing is that the judge will deny your request for removal. In this instance, you have the ability to appeal to the PA State Supreme Court. It’s probably a good idea to have an attorney present at your appeal. An attorney will recognize if there was a problem at the hearing and if there was, you can build on that. Right now, as far as I know, the fees associated with filing an appeal amount to approximately $300 in filing fees to the Supreme Court and another $2000 to your criminal defense attorney or public defender you hired to handle the appeal.