The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overruled a trial judge who had required a sex offender to undergo a periodic test that measures his response to erotic images, the Associated Press reports. The appeals court “described the test as ‘Orwellian’ because it examines the mind of Matthew Weber, not just his body.”
A three-judge panel unanimously voided U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson’s 2001 judgment. Pregerson ruled that Weber, in order to be released from prison, would have to undergo tests in which a pressure-sensitive electronic device is placed on his groin and his response to stimulating images is monitored. The test is used in up to a quarter of all adult sex offender treatment programs.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-brf-sex-offender-ruling,1,