The Dobbs Wire: Michigan: DOES III — mega-complaint filed today! – federal class action
A mega-complaint of nearly 200 pages kicks off another battle against the infernal Michigan sex offense registry – a federal class action lawsuit. Best of luck to the fierce, tenacious litigators, Miriam Aukerman and Paul Reingold, and thanks to many others helping with this effort. Associated Press has a report, have a look. Further down is a link to the press release, complaint, and exhibits. –Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire If you or a friend would like to join the mailing list, drop us a line. info@thedobbswire.com Twitter: @thedobbswire
“Dying shouldn’t be the only way a person can get off the registry.”
Associated Press | Feb. 2, 2022
ACLU sues Michigan again over sex offender registry
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan sued the state Wednesday over the latest version of the sex offender registry, arguing that it violates the rights of people who must live under unconstitutional restrictions.
The ACLU has repeatedly won key decisions in state and federal courts over Michigan’s registry. But the group said lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer responded with a new edition that still isn’t acceptable.
“What we’re asking for is very simple: Consider the facts in each case before someone is tarred as a sex offender for life. Dying shouldn’t be the only way a person can get off the registry,” ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman said.
The Michigan Supreme Court last year said a 2011 version of the registry was unconstitutional when applied retroactively to certain offenders. The decision followed similar rulings from federal courts.
The lawsuit said the new law fails to provide any individual review or opportunity to be removed from the registry. It said the law retroactively extends registration rules for thousands of people.
The plaintiffs include a man who was never charged or convicted of a sex offense. He pleaded no contest to kidnapping for forcing a McDonald’s manager and her teen son into the restaurant to open a safe. He’s required to register as a sex offender, the ACLU said.
The new law eliminated restrictions about living near a school and attending school events.
ACLU of Michigan | Feb. 2, 2022
Press Release: ACLU Sues State Officials for the Fourth Time over Unconstitutional Michigan Sex Offender Registration Act
Civil rights organization says it’s unconstitutional to label people for life without individual review
DETROIT – Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU), on behalf of 10 people who all previously won federal court rulings that Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) is unconstitutional, filed a federal class action lawsuit against state officials over the latest version of the law. It is the fourth federal lawsuit the civil rights organization has filed challenging SORA in the past decade. The federal courts and the Michigan Supreme Court have repeatedly ruled that the earlier iteration of SORA was unconstitutional.
Today’s lawsuit, Does v. Whitmer, or Does III, filed in U.S. District Court, argues that the new SORA statute, which went into effect in 2021, is also unconstitutional. Specifically, SORA fails to provide for individual review or an opportunity for removal, forcing tens of thousands of people, including people who didn’t even commit a sex offense, to be branded as sex offenders and subjected to extensive, and in most cases life-long restrictions, without any consideration of their individual circumstances, which is a violation of their due process and equal protection rights. The 193-page complaint also argues that SORA imposes unconstitutional retroactive punishment, including by retroactively extending the registration terms of thousands of people to life.
Michigan has one of the largest registries in the country; there are approximately 45,000 Michigan registrants, and almost 10,000 more who live out of state. MORE
The full press release, lawsuit complaint, and exhibits are online here:
Dying shouldn’t be the only way a person can get off the registry? In the Soviet Union of Florida, even death is not a reprieve from the registry. I’m surprised DeSantis hasn’t implemented gas chambers yet.
Also as stated in the article, the “B”to the”S”, retroactive application of the registry for those who there was not registry when charged is Immoral, unconstitutional, illegal. (Should be anyway) Ok just ill period.
Some of these judges, legislatures, senators, prosecutors, sheriff’s police chiefs etc. should have one of their children placed on the registry. Maybe when people do the things they do to us, like slice our tires, throw feces at our house and more, maybe, just maybe they will see the light.
Probably not though as they would grease someone’s palm and use their influence to get the sentence dismissed. Too bad we do not have access to hidden cameras to see all the hypocrisy that goes on behind the closed doors at these officials lives. Kid get a bad grade at school? Threaten to have the teacher thrown in jail on false charges and wow, now the kid has a B+.
Much of the original lawsuit was challenging the state of Michigan’s retroactively changing the law. Yet Michigan’s new SORA AGAIN makes retroactive changes. When I pled guilty years ago, registration as a sex offender was part of that plea and my sentence. At that time, Michigan’s registry was NOT public. That’s what my plea was based upon. That’s what any appellate court should do, order that the law at the time of the conviction offense be honored by the state. It would seem to me that anything less is a violation of the plea agreement by the state.
Gerald
ALL of us agree 1000000%. There was not even a registry when I was sentenced. I am surprised they have not gone back and placed every person ever charged with a sex crime all the way to the 1800s be placed on the registry.
And yes I was retroactively put on the registry. Never got a chance to argue that point in court.
To Cherokeejack
Did you notice that the Michigan Supreme Court DID recently throw out a conviction of a man for failing to register because his conviction was before the 2011 amendments to Michigan’s SORA? It’s another frustrating decision from that court, as it didn’t give clear guidelines about the scope of its ruling. But it is certainly a step in the right direction. People v Betts. Betts was convicted before the existence of a sex offender registry in Michigan. Here is the Court’s conclusion:
VI. CONCLUSION
We hold that the 2011 SORA, when applied to registrants whose criminal acts predated the enactment of the 2011 SORA amendments, violates the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto laws. As applied to defendant Betts, because the crime subjecting him to registration occurred in 1993, we order that his instant conviction of failure to register as a sex offender be vacated.
The plain reading of that ruling would seem to most people to state that anyone convicted of a sex crime in Michigan before 2011 no longer has to register. Unfortunately, the new SORA in Michigan is already being applied retroactively, with minor exceptions related to the elimination of school zone restrictions that amended the old law. I am too old to be the test case for the new law, so I am continuing to report to police 4 times a year. But it sure is strange that the state supreme court can rule one way on the old law, but not crack down immediately on the new law that does mostly the same. Mr. Betts could be charged again tomorrow if he hasn’t complied with the new SORA yet.
Great to see the ACLU come back home and start litigating cases that pertain to civil liberties. They went way off the rail for a while there. I wonder if they could use other countries rulings that find the registry a violation of basic human rights. Play on Americas ego that we are the best at everything how are we being shown up by places like Germany
No hope
Your name says it all when it comes to your expectation of the U.S looking to another country to model something after. We as a nation have become pompous in our thinking and actions. We have always been the role model of other countries. But lately we have been the “Butt” of the jokes of the World and rightly so at times.
Our politicians think they control everything. Why do you think we have military bases in almost every country around the World but not a single country has one in the U.S? Yes there are embassies here but that is not a base. Think about it.
“While there are no freestanding foreign bases on U.S. soil, today there are around eight hundred U.S. bases in foreign countries, occupied by hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops. Although the United States has long had some bases in foreign lands, this massive global deployment of military force was unknown in U.S. history before World War II.”
source: The history reader .com
Where’s the backing of Michigan’s AG on this issue? I thought she was against the registry; yet she’s doing nothing except oppose ALI’s proposals. I’m tired of these politicians doing whatever they want without consequences. Start bringing them in for contempt of court with massive fines from out of their own pockets. Michigan’s ACLU needs to stand firm and not negotiate with these domestic terrorists. Hold these thugs feet to the fire and watch them squirm like the leeches they are.
Brandon
Perhaps the “Registry Mafia” got to her. I am not making a joke either. There are some powerful behind the scenes people who “make thing happen” and nothing can be done about it. Some of these people have more influence than the U.S president.
And I am not going off on some conspiracy theory, it is a fact there have been groups of influencers for centuries controlling major decisions on issues that even reach globally. This lady was probably pulled into a private meeting and told if she did not want to end up working a cash register in Walmart, she needs to either get on board with the registry or get out of the way of the Freight Train that is coming.
Although this is partly my opinion, it is based on known facts that the “Few” control the “Many”. Majority rules, does not apply in these situations. Flip the script.
CherokeeJack
I wouldn’t be one bit surprised and I’m not even a conspiracy theorist. Right now there is a lot going on that doesn’t make any sense and makes one’s head scratch. I don’t know what the silver bullet is to defend against this craziness. Gotta get up and try otherwise we’ll be worse off for sitting around complaining.
I wouldn’t read much into her failure to comment yet. It’s a new lawsuit, and lawyers always take their time to research before commenting. She can’t even file an amicus brief until the court is ready to accept them. She had the courage to state what we all know, that sex offender registries don’t prevent crimes. That’s a very brave thing for a politician to do nowadays.
I think what’s happening here could be ground zero for real registry reform. The persistence of the state legislation is being meet with persistence of Janice and the ACLU.
This will make so many people who normally would never take the time to learn about the real issues of the registry have to see and hear the truth. Most including the uneducated public already have a negative outlook on registrats. This can really only serve to stop bad unconstitutional laws again and educated the public. I hope they keep suing the state untill they make the laws legal.
This is what needs to happen: class action law suits. I’m always happy to read case where one or two people prevail in their individual fights against the various registries. But we need wins in class action suits to really make a difference.
Just saying
We need a slam dunk case landing on Chief Justice Robert and the other Justices’ laps. “Time has come to kill your beloved registry and everything else that’s gotten swept up in the injustice. “
we need all 50 plus states to file ALL AT THE SAME TIME it would be the eye opener to the issue of unconstutional laws and punishments
And 1 decision would apply to all the states as its all filed at the same time.. if 50 plus states file on it then obviously there is a problem
as 1 million SOs would be involved just sayin a thought..