Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

Sex offender driven to drink and drive by registration requirement

By Douglas A. Berman

This little local story, headlined "Police: Pa. man drove drunk to Megan's Law meeting," is both funny and not-so-funny.  Here are the basics: A convicted child sex offender has been charged with drunken driving because he allegedly showed up intoxicated when he registered under Megan's Law at a western Pennsylvania state police barracks. State police in Greensburg say 37-year-old Jerry Cignetti, of Bradenville, showed up drunk on Friday.  Court records show he was convicted in Westmoreland County in 1998 for the indecent assault of a child under 13.  He was paroled but had to register as a sex offender once his sentence was completed. The 1L Crim Law teacher in me is wondering if this might be the basis for an interesting (though surely losing) claim of necessity.continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 31, 2009 (boomark / email).