Fross v. County Of Allegheny

5-25-2011 Pennsylvania:

Fross v. County Of Allegheny
20 A.3d 1193 (2011)
(Good decision, eliminates local residency laws. Only affects folks on parole or probation though)

Lower court decision 2009:
Fross v. County Of Allegheny
Civil Action No. 08-1405.

Upon certification by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, we accepted for review the issue of whether Allegheny County Ordinance No. 39-07-OR (the "Ordinance"), which imposes residency restrictions on certain offenders, is preempted by the Pennsylvania Prisons and Parole Code, 61 Pa.C.S. § 101 et seq., ("Parole Code") and/or by the Pennsylvania Sentencing Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9701 et seq. ("Sentencing Code").

The Ordinance applies to offenders subject to the registration requirements of those provisions of the Sentencing Code collectively known as Megan's Law. See 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9791-9792; 9795.1-9799.4; 9979.4-9979.9.1 For the reasons that follow, we hold that the Ordinance impedes the accomplishment of the full objectives of the General Assembly, as expressed in the Sentencing and Parole Codes, and is, therefore, invalid pursuant to our conflict preemption doctrine.