“Panicked Legislation”

The title of this post is the title of a new article authored by Catherine Carpenter which I missed when first posted here on SSRN, but now can be found in final form in print here at the Notre Dame Journal of Legislation.  Here is its SSRN abstract:

We are in the throes of a moral panic. It is not the first time, nor will it likely be the last, but it is among the most enduring.  Dubbed the sex panic, it has bred widespread and ever-escalating legislation, impacted the lives of more than a million people and their families, and caused public hysteria and violence.  And unlike other moral panics in our history that dissipated over time, there are no signs that the sex panic is diminishing.  Indeed, this panic grows more virulent with each passing year.

Panicked legislation is both the symbol and the result of a moral panic.  The article is uniquely situated, linking both social science and legal theories to offer a dynamic account of the world of moral panics, the mythical narratives that support them, and the inaccurate risk management assessment that plagues them.  It is ultimately a cautionary tale of hastily-crafted and fear-driven legislation that is fueled by the public’s distorted fear of a targeted group of people.

With a public unable or unwilling to hear the evidence, and political actors invested in their electorate, this article urges judicial intervention through the Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine to challenge statutory schemes that are based on false assumptions that masquerade as universal truths.