Georgia court overturns sex offender ruling

In the majority opinion, presiding Justice Carol Hunstein said under the law there is no place in Georgia where a registered sex offender can live without being continually at risk of being rejected. That law had been targeted by civil liberties groups who said the legislation could actually encourage sex offenders to stop reporting their whereabouts to law enforcement officials. Steve Crampton, vice president for legal affairs with Liberty Counsel, says those arguments are baseless.

"But if you look at those claims in detail, and with some commonsense applied here, what they're really arguing is that these convicted sex offenders are more likely to violate the law again, unless you strike the law down," says Crampton. "What kind of argument is that? The idea that they may end up not complying with the law ought to hold no weight to a court of law."

Crampton argues that convicted sex offenders have no fundamental right to be able to live close to locations where children gather. "It sounds to me like another instance where the courts are basically creating constitutional rights out of nothing," he states.

The attorney expects the high court's ruling to be challenged.