Fross v. Allegheny County
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Pennsylvania's current version of Megan's Law requires individuals convicted of kidnapping, indecent assault, or promoting prostitution to register for ten years following release from jail or probation. Persons convicted of two or more offenses subject to the ten-year registration must register for life. Allegheny County (the County) amended its code to add to the registration requirements: if a registrant moves to a "prohibited area" within the County, s/he will have 45 days to move out. Failure to move within the 45 days would constitute a separate offense. Appellee Charles Fross and several other parties were convicted sex offenders subjected to the County's new rule. They brought suit in federal court to challenge the new ordinance, arguing that the rule was preempted by the state Sentencing and Parole Codes, and asked the court to declare the ordinance invalid. The federal court certified the question of whether the County's ordinance was preempted by the Pennsylvania Prisons and Parole Code and/or by the Pennsylvania Sentencing Code to the Supreme Court. The County argued that the ordinance was a permissible exercise of its powers, and was valid. The Supreme Court found that the ordinance "impedes the accomplishments of the full objectives of the General Assembly, as expressed in the Sentencing and Parole Codes, and is . . . invalid pursuant to our conflict preemption doctrine."
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