Alaska Supreme Court Declares Sex Offender Registration Law Unconstitutional
On July 25, 2008, the Alaska Supreme Court declared Alaska's Sex Offender Registration Act unconstitutional. In a blog that I posted on this website on June 5, 2008 entitled "Sex Offender Registration: Is It Punishment?," I observed that "[i]n the case of Smith v. Doe, the [United States Supreme] Court ruled that Alaska's sex-offender registration statute did not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the U.S. Constitution because the Alaska State Legislature's intention in passing that particular law was not to punish sex offenders but rather to create a 'civil, nonpunitive regime.' " I concluded that posting by opining that although courts may call sex offender statutes nonpunitive, they certainly seem punitive to me (and apparently to many others based upon the response that I have had to that posting).
It appears that the Alaska Supreme Court shares my view because it recently declared Alaska's Sex Offender Registration Act ("ASORA") unconstitutional in the case of John Doe v. State of Alaska. In John Doe, Alaska's High Court stated in relevant part that:
We first ask “[w]hether the sanction involves an affirmative disability or
restraint.” The state argues that ASORA involves neither because it imposes no
physical restraint, has obligations less harsh than occupational debarment — which the
Supreme Court has held to be non-punitive — and, in the Supreme Court’s words,
“restrains [no] activities sex offenders may pursue but leaves them free to change jobs
or residences.”
But even though the statute imposes no physical restraints, we agree with Justice Stevens’s dissenting comments in Smith that ASORA “impose[s] significant affirmative obligations and a severe stigma on every person to whom [it] appl[ies].” First, ASORA compels affirmative post-discharge conduct (mandating registration, reregistration, disclosure of public and private information, and updating of that information) under threat of prosecution. The duties are significant and intrusive, because they compel offenders to contact law enforcement agencies and disclose information, some of which is otherwise private, most of it for public dissemination.
Furthermore, the time periods associated with ASORA are intrusive. Sex offenders convicted of an aggravated sex offense or two or more sex offenses must re-register quarterly for the rest of their lives; all other offenders must re-register annually for fifteen years. All sex offenders who change residences must notify the state trooper office or municipal police department closest to their new residences within one working day. As we stated in Doe v. State, Department of Public Safety (Doe A), “ASORA thus treats offenders not much differently than the state treats probationers and parolees subject to continued state supervision.”
Second, we agree with the conclusion of Justice Ginsburg, also dissenting in Smith, that ASORA “exposes registrants, through aggressive public notification of their crimes, to profound humiliation and community-wide ostracism.” In the decision reversed in Smith, the Ninth Circuit observed that “[b]y posting [registrants’] names, addresses, and employer addresses on the internet, the Act subjects [registrants] to community obloquy and scorn that damage them personally and professionally.” The Ninth Circuit observed that the practical effect of this dissemination is that it leaves open the possibility that the registrant will be denied employment and housing opportunities as a result of community hostility. As Justice Souter noted in concurring in Smith, “there is significant evidence of onerous practical effects of being listed on a sex offender registry.” Outside Alaska, there have been reports of incidents of suicide by and vigilantism against offenders on state registries.
We also disagree with the Supreme Court’s conclusion in Smith that the obligations ASORA imposes are less harsh than the occupational debarment which the Court has held to be non-punitive. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of post-conduct professional sanctions that included the prohibition of further participation in the banking industry and revocation of medical licenses. A comparable bar for sex offenders who pose a risk to children might be employment in places frequented by children. But the practical effects here can predictably extend to all employment opportunities as well as to all other non-employment aspects of life, including housing opportunities. There are published reports that offenders are sometimes subjected to protests and group actions designed to force them out of their jobs and homes. We agree that “[t]he practical effect of such unrestricted dissemination could make it impossible for the offender to find housing or employment.”
I would suggest that anyone interested in the subject of sex offender registration laws read the John Doe opinion in its entirety because of its well-reasoned approach to a very emotionally-charged issue.
Will this have reaching effects for other states to abolish registration on this ruling as well as other federal laws (Jessica's ans adam walsh).
We as a society have an image in our minds about what a “sex offender” is. Our legislators and policymakers share this oversimplified view when creating shortsighted laws on this matter. The unintended consequences are often profound. Please view this web page to see how absurd and ruthlessly cruel our policies on this hot button issue have become.
www.rickyslife.com
The media have a responsibility to bring these injustices to light. PLEASE, if you're in the media, have the courage to make these facts known. If you're not, PLEASE review this web site and see what our nation has done, and sign the petition to let our legislators know that this is INTOLERABLE.
yeah rite, of course they are punitive. i have been outcast from society over a hug. it was a misdemeanor that occurred with an adult and was completely non-violent. i have had to leave my home, my friends, the woman i love and have encountered threatening calls, prank calls, had my car keyed up and been subject to RETROACTIVE LAWS which were not a part of my original sentence. all this when i have never even had a parking ticket since the incident happened 13 years ago. i hugged a girl and she said i was holding her when her husband saw us hugging and kissing. go figure. she was over 30 years old. even Ben Franklin and Leonardo Divinci stated that to be outcast from society is the worst form of punishment. i cannot even find a house to live in anymore and a job is basically out of the question as no one will hire me. but they are not punitive. having to constantly check in everywshere i go and use my $$, gas, wear and tear on my car as well as all the demeaning looks constanly are not punishment either?? my butt. anyone who is burdened with doing things against their will is being punished, i don't care what anyone says. Peace
Come watch this 9 minute video about a 14 year old innocent child being raped by the united states government and the government of Louisiana by this unconstitutional federal law.
Sit and watch that 9 minute video, uninterrupted by cell phones, or television or other people. Devote 9 minutes to that video of an innocent child... then, come back and post if YOU think the law is Punishment and Unconstitutional.
This law makes Thousands of Victims.
That is what these lawmakers keep saying, Get tough on crime, protect the Victims.... They are the criminals, they are hurting these innocent children with these draconian laws.
http://www.failamerica.blogspot.com Watch the video.
He said, I just want to be a somebody again... those words haunt me every day.
Excellent. The Constitution works.
Enough is enough! No more unconstitutional laws in America ! The sex offender registry and it's insane regulations and restrictions is an enormous travesty of justice, we must stand and fight for our right to be free in OUR COUNTRY? The line in the sand has been drawn! Join in!
Women Against the
Registry
http://www.pacatwar.org and join with Women Against the
Registry (you don’t have to be a woman)
and be ready to become a true activist. If you do this, be ready to
take to the streets. This group is not about sitting and waiting.
They need your financial support, even if it is one dollar,
and they expect your active passion and participation.
I am currently having my life ripped apart because of sex offender registration. I am twenty five and was adjudicated of the crime when I was 14 for offenses I committed when I was 12 and 13. I went to treatment for four years, two of which were in a group home, passed two polygraphs and a psycho sexual evaluation, yet was refused a certificate of completion. Now I am being harassed by cops for not registering because I spend a lot of time at my girlfriend's house, who is due to have our baby any day now. I do not want to register at her house for fear that the father of her eighteen month old son, who I have raised as my own since he was four months old, will find out and take him away from my girlfriend. I realize that the things I did in the past are horrible, but I am not a screwed up thirteen year old boy anymore and have no desire to repeat the things I've done. If everyone were registered for the rest of their lives for the things they did as a kid 90% of society would be registered and labeled freaks. There are also studies that prove that registering only increases recidivism, by overwhelming the registrant with the exact emotions- alienation, humiliation, self -hatred- that lead a person to offend.
I currently live with trying to get a job and find a non-violent place to live because of something that happend over 18+ yrs. ago.
I had been out drinking and went home alone. Unknown to me at the time my sister's children were staying at my parents house where I had been dropped off for the night so I didn't have to drive home. While in the bathroom,(which didn't have a lock on the door at the time), masturbating to releave some sexual tension, my niece walks in on me. I jumped she jumped and then said I was sick in the head and then she walked out. The whole situation became completely blown out of the water and I served 13.5 years for a rape, (which is what they charged me with and though there was no physical evidence to support the state claimed a Doctors testimony is what got me convicted because he said he "believed" I had done it.) I didn't commit the crime but am paying dearly for it.
Now I can't find a job (even with an A.A.S. in Business). I can't pay my bills. I have a huge child support payment that built up over the 13.5 yrs. in prison (over 25k). I am now married, however, my wife's daughter was taken out of her home because her mother and I got married. I am also an Ordained Minister now but even that is of little value. It seems like the harder I try to be a better citizen in the eyes of my fellow country men and women the more laws they change to restrict me even more. I have completed a Private Investigaters course so that I might find someway to provide for my family and even that is of no use to me. my wife had to join the military just so we could survive a little bit and now that isn't enough with the rising cost of living... so someone please tell me how all of these laws aren't punitive or unconstitutional.
To the best of my knowledge the Federal Gov. isn't supposed to dictate or become directly involved with the lives of the citizens of this country. we fought a bloody war to get away from oppression yet here we are slowly but surely one group of people at a time losing our most powerful Constitutional Rights. The right to live freely from pursecution when a debt to socity has been paid.
What good is our Constitution if we allow it to be trampled upon by the very people we elected to protect it?
I was so relieved after reading some of the posted comments at this website. Voices of reason, in such a chaotic storm of confused hatred and fear. This sex offender registration process is draconian to the point that it threatens my belief in the goodness of humanity. The quality that sustains us through the ages is the virtue of forgiveness. We must not forget that we are more alike than different. To force another to live in this prison of ostracism under threat of prosecution, is a flaw of human character. We are so much better than that. When I hear some hardliner proclaim "this is not further punishment", I am both saddened and insulted. I am a voter, mother, housewife,provider and proud American, what I am not Sir, is a fool. In the immortal words of one south-westerner "Don't pee on my boots and tell me it's raining".
I am a Registered Sex Offender. I have 1 conviction for having a friends 15 yr old cousin give me a naked picture of herself when I was 23.
I also have 1 conviction for failure to register- the local police made it almost impossible to register at the time, saying only 1 person in the entire department could do it, and she was on vacation for 2 weeks.
Due to having "2 or more violations of the Sex Offender Act" I am not eligible to ever have my name removed- for the rest of my life. Forever.
I have since dealt with trying to find a job- Good Luck!! Trying to find a place to live, when they say "school bus stops" what happens when the bus stops change, as they do yearly according to population?
Good luck being registered and trying to find out where they are so you can COMPLY with the law- obviously, you are looking for victims, the police say.
I've even had children point me out and ask, "mommy is THAT the man I'm supposed to stay away from?"
I have been turned down for loans, jobs, even told that "no sex offender is allowed to live in this building" when trying to find apartments.
I'll consider an act like this to be unfair til the day I die.
Congratulations Alaska!! You have shown common sense.
I feel for all of you on the SOR. My husband was accused more than 25 years ago by an ex girl friend. She accused him of messing with her daughter. He plead rather than going to trial to save the family grief. None of this is true. I have been with him almost 20 years and have gone through a lot with him. First of all was the arrest, for the non-publicized law of having to register. Now we are subject to middle of the night residency checks. Why do these have to be performed in the middle of the night? There are plenty of other hours in the day. He has complied with every requirement, but still they harrass. My employment has to depend on SOR laws of any state I may want to work. This is an overwhelming shadow on our relationship and the first thing we think of when planning a vacation or retirement. The SOR has not done a thing to protect anyone. It is merely a method to restrict where people can live and if they can earn a living. I have not done anything, yet I am paying a price too. Why should that be?
Hello Mr.Chapman:
First I would like to thank you for providing this site and presenting news of Alaska's recent decision and voicing your opinion of these laws. I recognize the political danger you place yourself in by taking a position against these laws.
As you are aware these laws have everything to do with money, power and politics and nothing to do with child saftey.
I Recognize you are not siding with, condoning or defending those who have commited sex offenses especially against children. I sense you are more of a Patriot standing up for our U.S. Constitution which in the political world can mean political suicide. This takes much more courage and belief in our system of government to stand up for the rights of all citizens.
What I see happening with the citizens of the U.S. is their weakness of believing things unscrupulous politicians tell them without verifying everything they say. I have found so many very uncontitutional rulings that it frightens me. In Smith vs Doe Kennedy's opinion states high sex crime recidivism. He has not established what this means. As you probably know the DOJ states percentages second only to murder. DOJ states in the 3 to 5 Percent range. I have followed many studies and have found variables from 3 to 10 percent. This is still far far below the rates of all other crimes rearrest rate.
Kennedy was either ill informed (ignorant of the facts), Politically hamstringed, or seeking favorable rapport from the general public and its wives tale beliefs. He must feel his politics take precedence over his sworn oath to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States.
The public in general form opinions based on political and media based advertising to mislead the public to approve passage of laws which in effect removes Constitutional protection from themselves.
Joseph Goebbles used this exact approach to generate a cause to hate the Jewish people. BUT he started with ,yes child molesters, Then the old, then the mentally retarded and finally the Holocaust.
Megan's law is a "test bed" to see how far politicians can push us by tearing away our rights. Drunk drivers now in some states have to place a special license plate on their cars for past convictions. The wild right is trying to overturn Roe then prosecute the Abortionist as well as the mother aserting murder of which there is no Statute of Limitations.
All politicianc are going berserk for power. If your hysteria over sex crimes is uncontrollable and you denounce the truth of the matter you will eventually vote yourself out of meaningful existence. Know something about what you think you hate. Know your subject matter before having an opinion. Know that politicians want to keep you ignorant so they can rule you like sheep.
" He who would give up a freedom for temporary comfort deserve neither freedom nor comfort"
Benjamin Franklin
I have read that one way goverments are judged is how they treat their societies offenders.
The Constitution is for ALL citizens not just the supposed perfect ones.
If your child had been the one that was attacked or molested, you would want the book thrown at them. It's a little bit different if you are on the outside looking in, or if you are personally involved.
Sex Offender Reg. Is Unconstitutional. Anyone should be punished for the Crime(s) they commit. But, This here is further punishment. I was convicted of Aggravated Oral Sex. battery 20yrs ago. Since then this charge was removed from the Law books and now its just Oral sex. battery. I had gotten the max sentence of 20yrs on this charge and Railroaded. I had to register too. Now, At my Job I'm being Harrassed because I know TO MUCH and they are using my past to Harrass me. They have called My Parole officer about 20-25 times tryn to get me arrested. They have called the city marshall several times with lies. A guy from my Job came to my house and busted my window(I had no proof) and My truck was hit at the Job and The cameras so-say were not working. I'm not perfect, but I am A born again Christain. Since I got out of Prison in 2005 - I got a Job and Bought a House.(payn notes) I just want to live in peace.
I have to register for life and I do not have a conviction; out of fear of community reprisal, I took a plea deal and did what I was told to do for ten years. A new law retroactively mandated that I register for life which is not what I agreed to. That was in 1997, I have since completed my probation sentence and raised three good boys headed for college. I feel that I am being imprisoned at home as I can't find work and it has been difficult to find a residence for my family. My children have endured harsh treatment at school and neighborhood.
This is not fair or just and this is turning into a public panic that is not solving any problems.