Brief of King County Department of Public Defense
Michael Caldwell
Elizabeth Letourneau
Katherine Hurley
La Rond Baker
Marsha L. Levick
SummaryOriginal

Summary

Washington's mandatory sex offender registration law is punitive due to low youth sexual recidivism rates, lack of public safety enhancement, harm to registered youth, and disproportionate impact on Black youth and the homeless.

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2022 | State Juristiction

Brief of King County Department of Public Defense

Keywords adolescents; emerging adulthood; sex offender registration and notification; SORN; 18-year-old; suicide; sexual recidivism; race; Black youth
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Summary of Argument

Registering youth under age 18 as “sex offenders” harms children and provides no public safety benefit. Uncontroverted research involving more than 20,000 cases of youth with sex offense adjudications shows that 97 percent of youth adjudicated for a sexual offense do not recidivate. Youth registration fails to prevent harm or improve public safety, and instead, makes children targets for sexual abuse by adults and creates suffering and anguish so severe that registration is associated with increased suicide attempts by children and young people.

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Summary of Argument

Registering youth under age 18 as “sex offenders” harms children and does not provide any public safety benefit. Research involving more than 20,000 cases of juveniles with sex offense adjudications shows that 97 percent of youth adjudicated for a sexual offense do not reoffend. Youth registration fails to prevent harm or improve public safety, but instead, makes children targets for sexual abuse by adults and creates suffering so severe that registration is associated with increased suicide attempts by children and young people.

Open Amicus Brief as PDF

Summary of Argument

Registering youth under age 18 as “sex offenders” harms children and adolescents and provides no public safety benefit. Undisputed research involving more than 20,000 cases of youth with sex offense adjudications shows that 97 percent of youth adjudicated for a sexual offense do not recidivate. Youth registration fails to prevent harm or improve public safety, and instead, makes children targets for sexual abuse by adults and creates suffering and anguish so severe that registration is associated with increased suicide attempts by children and young people.

Open Amicus Brief as PDF

Summary of Argument

Registering youth under age 18 as “sex offenders” harms children and does not provide public safety benefit. Research involving more than 20,000 cases of juveniles with sex offense adjudications shows that 97 percent of youth adjudicated for a sexual offense do not recidivate. Youth registration fails to improve public safety, but instead, makes children targets for sexual abuse by adults and creates suffering so severe that registration is associated with increased suicide attempts by children and young people.

Open Amicus Brief as PDF

Summary of Argument

Forcing youth under age 18 to register as “sex offenders” does more harm on children than it does provide public safety. Research on more than 20,000 cases of youth with sex offense charges shows that 97 percent of youth charged with a sexual offense do not reoffend. Youth sex offender registration does not improve public safety. It makes children targets for sexual abuse by adults and is associated with increased suicide attempts by children and young people.

Open Amicus Brief as PDF

Footnotes and Citation

Cite

Memorandum of Amici Curiae King County Department of Public Defense, Dr. Elizabeth Letourneau, Dr. Michael Caldwell, Juvenile Law Center, TeamChild, Public Defender Association, Washington Defender Association, and ACLU of Washington in Support of Petition for Review, State v. Smith, No. 100426-5 (Wash. Jan. 31, 2022).

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