E.D., Matter of
| Decision Date | 09 February 1996 |
| Citation | 672 A.2d 183,288 N.J.Super. 166 |
| Parties | In the Matter of Registrant E.D.: Application for Judicial Review of Notification and Tier Designation. |
| Court | New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division |
Before Judges SHEBELL, LONG, and MUIR, Jr.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
MUIR, Jr., J.A.D.
This appeal emanates from the implementation of the Registration and Community Notification Laws (RCNL), N.J.S.A. 2C:7-1 to -11, and the judicial review process required by Doe v. Poritz, 142 N.J. 1, 662 A.2d 367 (1995).
Registrant E.D., a convicted sex offender, appeals from an order that sustained the prosecutor's Tier Three risk of reoffense classification (highest risk of reoffense) and extent of community notification. The appeal asserts only that the trial court lacked jurisdiction under the RCNL to enter the order. Although he initially registered under the RCNL based on his New Jersey residence and although currently employed in New Jersey, E.D. argues the RCNL do not afford jurisdiction over him because he moved to Pennsylvania prior to the prosecutor's RCNL-required notice of proposed Tier classification and community notification. We conclude the RCNL apply and accordingly affirm.
The relevant facts are undisputed. E.D. was released on June 1, 1993, from the New Jersey Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC) after serving the maximum term for two sexual abuse offenses committed on two girls ages 7 and 8. The sentence to the ADTC required a finding the offenses reflected a repetitive, compulsive behavioral pattern. See N.J.S.A. 2C:47-1 to -8. E.D.'s record at the time of his incarceration discloses prior charges for lewdness and for public indecency in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
Upon release, E.D. moved to a New Jersey community. There he registered as required by the RCNL. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Pennsylvania but continues to work at a gas station in New Jersey. On July 26, 1995, a New Jersey municipal court found him guilty of the disorderly persons offense of lewdness. E.D. received a 90-day jail term.
On November 29, 1995, the prosecutor initiated the RCNL Tier classification and community notification process. The trial court rejected E.D.'s lack of jurisdiction argument. This appeal ensued.
The RCNL are "clearly and totally remedial in purpose." Doe v. Poritz, supra, 142 N.J. at 73, 662 A.2d 367. "Where the Legislature's intent is remedial, a court should construe a statute liberally." Young v. Schering Corp., 141 N.J. 16, 25, 660 A.2d 1153 (1995). To that aim, statutes should be read "in a way that advances 'the sense and meaning fairly deductible from the context.' " State v. Gonzalez, 142 N.J. 618, 627-28, 667 A.2d 684 (1995) (quoting Lesniak v. Budzash, 133 N.J. 1, 14, 626 A.2d 1073 (1993)). Common sense then projects that a court is not precluded from interpreting a statute to apply in circumstances not specifically considered by the Legislature so long as those circumstances are within the ambit of the legislative purpose. As we recently stated:
Generally, a remedial statute will be construed to include cases within its spirit or reason, although technically outside its letter, when necessary to effectuate the legislative intent. Where the drafters of a statute did not consider or contemplate a specific situation, a court should interpret the enactment consonant with the probable intent of the drafters, had the situation at hand been anticipated. In such a situation, the interpreting court should not rely on "literalisms, technicisms or the so-called formal rules of interpretation." Rather, the court should rely on the breadth of the objectives of the legislation and the common sense of the situation, in order to further the legislative purpose.
[City of Newark v. Township of Hardyston, 285 N.J.Super. 385, 394, 667 A.2d 193 (App.Div.1995) (citations omitted).]
Applying these rules, we conclude the RCNL apply to the circumstances here.
Designed to afford a means for protecting New Jersey citizens, particularly children, from the almost intractable recidivism of repetitive, compulsive sex offenders, the RCNL prescribe a process that allows law enforcement officials to identify convicted sex offenders and alert the public about them. See N.J.S.A. 2C:7-1 to -11;...
To continue reading
Request your trial