Rockland County Supreme Court Justice William A. Kelly has struck down a local law barring sex offenders from living near an area where children get together. The New York Law Journal has the story.

Yoel Oberlander, a previously convicted child sex offender who had been arrested for residing within 1,000 feet of a "child safety zone," contended that the 2007 law was preempted by Statewide laws aimed at supervising sex offenders.

Citing a recent amendment to the New York State Executive Law that gives local probation departments express authority to approve housing for sex offenders, Justice Kelly agreed that Local Law No. 1 of 2007 "impermissibly conflicts with the State enactments in the area," and declared the statute invalid.

Alfred O'Connor, a staff attorney at the New York State Defenders Association who was not involved in the case, said he expects similar challenges to local laws throughout the state and hopes "other judges give great weight" to Justice Kelly's decision. As far as he knows, the decision is the first to strike down a local sex offender residency law.