State courts that declared the sex offender registry unconstitutional
(Weekly Update #225)
Dear Members and Advocates,
I have to keep reminding myself that “haters gonna hate” and I need to keep plugging ahead. What I’m talking about are the negative comments that keep popping up in our forum, even when we announce great news! The sad thing is that the negative comments are not coming from vigilantes or pro-registy zealots. The negative comments are coming from registrants and members.
Last week we shared an opinion and order that came out in Pennsylvania and the post announcing the victory turned into a debate in the comments section, with some commenters suggesting the State will ignore the order or just rewrite their registry even harsher. OK… or Pennsylvania might just take this loss (which is their third consecutive loss in this particular case) and continue not applying it to the plaintiff (as they have not been) and realize their registry has been declared unconstitutional from the trial court to the Supreme Court and back, and Pennsylvania won’t be as draconian as, say… Florida. Or, perhaps a meteor will land on the plaintiff’s head tomorrow and his victory becomes irrelevant to him? The point is we don’t know what tomorrow will bring but we do know that for today this is a victory, this is a great thing, and great things don’t come often in our movement so we need to celebrate them.
As we wrote in the post titled, “Disecting Torsilieri” (Torsilieri is the name of the PA case), “For those negative nellies out there who have posted that the case will be overturned on appeal or PA will simply ignore the decision; been there, done that and they have not ignored the decision since the higher court ruled 2 years ago, so I don’t think they will do so now.” We still don’t think so. You can think otherwise, but this Opinion was extremely well thought out and articulated and the research and citations are solid. This decision is one that you will want every judge in this country to read because it methodically debunks the myths that infected the US Supreme Court’s decision in Smith v. Doe. First, recidivism rates are NOT high. Second, the registry IS PUNITIVE. And while no, this case is not binding on us here in Florida, this case is very persuasive when it comes to the identical issues that have been raised in our Ex Post Facto Plus cases which are CURRENTLY being litigated.
It is opinions such as the one in Torsilieri that can provide a roadmap for future courts that are considering the same or similar issues. Not only does it provide insight into what the previous court was thinking when it rendered its opinion, but it also gives the future court some comfort in knowing they are not the first to call the registry out for what it is; misguided, ineffective, and punitive. Take, for example, a case filed by Florida Justice Institute last week in Jacksonville to challenge the Halloween Sign ordinance. With a similar issue already litigated (and won) out of Butts County, Georgia, who had their butts handed to them (no pun intended, but why not?) in the District Court and the 11th Circuit, the Jacksonville case became a no-brainer. Fortunately, the 11th Circuit is the same Circuit as Florida, so that case is binding on us here. So is 2019’s Doe v. Marshall out of Alabama, which prohibited the branding of driver’s licenses there with the words, “criminal sex offender”. Ex Post Facto II now challenges Florida’s practice of doing the same.
We NEED these wins wherever they may be. We need to chip away at the registry and we need as many courts as possible around the country to feel comfortable making a decision that’s not politically popular, but that’s the right decision. We also need to keep bringing these cases as an offensive measure to make lawmakers think twice before piling more garbage onto the plate. For decades, “enhancements” to the registry were added in practically every legislative session, but now politicians consider the potential that a lawsuit will be filed to challenge it or that their addition might just tip the scales in favor of “punitive” in the mind of a judge. We NEED these wins and we NEED to support the active challenges.
YOU (yes, you) can help make these wins happen. To our haters, stop hating and start helping. To our long standing supporters, we’re almost there and we still need you. Even if you don’t have a penny to donate towards the lawsuits or hiring experts, you can submit a declaration in support of active litigation. At the top of our website we have posted a call for declarations in the Ex Post Facto challenge. If you’ve not already read and responded please read and respond: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/have-you-been-impacted-by-floridas-3-day-requirements-or-drivers-license-branding/. This will be the last week we will be collecting declarations before sending them off to the attorneys. Please try to get them in to us before Wednesday, if possible.
The best way I can describe the legal landscape for us is this way… When FAC organized a “legal committee” more than a decade ago, trying to effectuate a change felt like pushing a boulder up a hill. I would push and push but the best I could do was rock the boulder back and forth. As FAC began to grow, we added the power of more people pushing the boulder and we finally got it to turn. And turn again. That momentum of the first turn got us rolling. As we pushed the boulder up the hill the State kept trying to make it harder on us with their “scorched earth” 2014 or “3-day” 2018, and suddenly we were pushing a much heavier boulder. We were doing our best just to keep the boulder from rolling backwards on top of us and for a while that was the best we could hope for. But around the same time some very strong and capable legal eagles came on board to help us, and instead of our boulder rolling back to the base of the hill, we were able to keep pushing upwards. Over the years, people have donated to our legal challenges and we were able to hire some heavyweight experts to help us push. And we kept rolling. Also over time came some very positive decisions from other jurisdictions. Even though these didn’t bring us over the hill, they were the dips in the slope that allow us to pick up the momentum that will launch us higher.
I feel we are reaching the top of the hill. The pivotal moment where we will push our boulder over the crest and it will begin rolling down the hill on it’s own momentum. The added obligations and burdens that the State has added over the years to make our boulder heavier will only serve to make it roll down faster. Florida will one day join Maine (2009), Kentucky (2009), Michigan (2016), Pennsylvania (2017), Ohio (2011), Alaska (2008), Indiana (2009), New Hampshire (2015), New Jersey (2021), and Oklahoma (2013) whose registries have been found to violate the Ex Post Facto provisions of the Constitution. We are almost there!
Please consider either donating to our Ex Post Facto Plus sustainer challenge or submitting a declaration to help push our boulder over the hill.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
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SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
Dissecting Torsilieri – Why the Pennsylvania Trial Court Decision Matters to Us
Since posting the opinion in Commonwealth v Torsilieri, there has been a lot of confusion and questions as to why this lower court decision from another state is good news for us here in Florida. I want to help unmuddy the waters by explaining the significance of this…
City of Jacksonville SUED Over Halloween Sign Ordinance
In advance of Halloween, which is just about two months away, the City of Jacksonville has been SUED over their Halloween sign ordinance. Two brave registrants have taken on the City of Jacksonville (with the representation of Dante Trevisani and Ray Taseff of the…
SCAMS CONTINUE
From a Member: I just wanted to inform you of a scam that I nearly fell for. I received a call from a “deputy” at my Sheriff’s Office telling me that I was supposed to be at the office yesterday to do a DNA swab. He said that I should have got a letter from the Court…
The blurring line between mental health and criminal justice.
A story just popped up on my alerts about an 85 year old man who allegedly offered a parent shopping at a Winn-Dixie $100,000 to purchase their daughter. True story, you can read more here. My initial thought was this was an old guy making a joke, but no. The guy was…
FAC you just listed 10 states covered by ex post facto rulings.
Yet all 10 of those states continue to feature strict registration and notification schemes, do they not?
Doesn’t this suggest that ex post facto is somewhat of a dead end?
A finding under Ex Post Facto would not change things prospectively, only retroactively. Prospectively the laws can apply, but retroactively they would not be applied against those whose offenses predate the enactment of the specific provision. It would also only apply to the challenged provisions, not the entire registry.
For more details, here are the cases in those states:
State v. Letalien, 985 A.2d 4 – Maine Supreme Court (2009); Com. v. Baker, 295 S.W.3d 437 – Supreme Court of Kentucky (2009); Riley v. New Jersey State Parole Bd., 219 N.J. 270 – New Jersey (2014); Does #1-5 v. Snyder, 834 F.3d 696 – United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2016), Commonwealth v. Muniz, 164 A.3d 1189 – Pennsylvania Supreme Court (2017)State v. Williams, 129 Ohio St. 3d 344 – Ohio Supreme Court (2011); Doe v. State, 189 P.3d 999 – Alaska Supreme Court (2008); Wallace v. State, 905 N.E.2d 371 – Indiana Supreme Court (2009); State v. Pollard, 908 N.E.2d 1145 –Indiana Supreme Court (2009); Gonzalez v. State, 980 N.E.2d 312 – Indiana Supreme Court (2013) (Ind.2013) Doe v. State, 167 N.H. 382 – New Hampshire Supreme Court (2015); In the Matter of Registrant J.D.F. (A-24-20) – New Jersey Supreme Court (August 9, 2021)
The negativism of those comments both angered and saddened me.
Angered me because here is FAC, working their butts off, for FREE, for ALL OF US and instead of encouraging remarks, they choose to view the glass as half empty and deflate advances.
Saddened me because life is what you make of it. Hope reduces feelings of helplessness, increases happiness, reduces stress, and improves our quality of life. “It is the hopeful, buoyant, cheerful attitude of mind that wins. Optimism is a success builder; pessimism an achievement killer.” – Orison Swett Marden.
I believe those of us who leads life viewing it as if nothing will change, a pessimistic viewpoint, are probably unhappy. How could you not be if that is your life-view?
I find that thinking of alternative ways of viewing life helps. I share some in the hopes that it will bring solace and hope to us in the fight!
• “Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.” – Christine Caine
• “What is hope but a feeling of optimism, a thought that says things will improve, it won’t always be bleak, there’s a way to rise above the present circumstances. Hope is an internal awareness that you do not have to suffer forever and that somehow, somewhere there is a remedy for despair that you will come upon if you can only maintain this expectancy in your heart.” – Wayne W. Dyer
• “Optimism is the essence of every fighter; the belief that no matter what you’ll find a way to win.” – MMA
• “You really need to love something or someone in order to work hard enough to be very successful. You have to believe in something and have a certain optimism. Faith and optimism come from love.” – Maya Soetoro-Ng
• “So many people grew up with challenges, as I did. There weren’t always happy things happening to me or around me. But when you look at the core of goodness within yourself – at the optimism and hope – you realize it comes from the environment you grew up in.” – Sonia Sotomayor
• “An optimist understands that life can be a bumpy road, but at least it is leading somewhere. They learn from mistakes and failures, and are not afraid to fail again.” – Harvey Mackay
• “Choose to be optimistic. It feels better.” – Dalai Lama
• “There are so many difficult things we’re living through in the world today, so many horrible events, but we cannot let them stop us. No matter what happens, I feel you must move forward with optimism and not get totally sideswiped.” – Gloria Estefan
• “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” – Roy T. Bennett
• “It is the hopeful, buoyant, cheerful attitude of mind that wins. Optimism is a success builder; pessimism an achievement killer.” – Orison Swett Marden
• “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” – Mahatma Gandhi
• “Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” – Vaclav Havel
• “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “We can choose to wake up and grumble all day and be bitter and angry and judge others and find satisfaction in others doing bad instead of good. Or we can we wake up with optimism and love and say, ‘Just what is this beautiful day going to bring me?’” – Margaret Trudeau
• “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
• “My optimism has helped me through some hard times. If you try to send out good things, good things come back to you.” – Jan Brett
• “Human spirit is the ability to face the uncertainty of the future with curiosity and optimism. It is the belief that problems can be solved, differences resolved. It is a type of confidence. And it is fragile. It can be blackened by fear and superstition.” – Bernard Beckett
• “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.” – Noam Chomsky
• “I am an optimist… I choose to be. There is a lot of darkness in our world, there is a lot of pain and you can choose to see that or you can choose to see the joy. If you try to respond positively to the world, you will spend your time better.” – Tom Hiddleston
• “Optimism – the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.” – Ambrose Bierce
• “The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• “While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us.” – Benjamin Franklin
• “Optimism can be more powerful than a battery of artillery or squadron of tanks. It can be contagious and it’s necessary to be a leader.” – Gen. Rick Hillier
• “The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns. The pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.” – Khalil Gibran
• “True hopefulness and optimism are what leads one to dare. It is also what lifts one back up to dare again after a failed attempt.” – Bibi Bourelly
• “You have to look to the future with optimism instead of negative ideas. Take the good and the bad and face it head-on.” – Goldie Hawn“It’s not that optimism solves all of life’s problems; it is just that it can sometimes make the difference between coping and collapsing.” – Lucy MacDonald
• “The way you look at life can determine your success. As they say, look on the bright side. Have an optimistic attitude.” – Catherine Pulsifer
• “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton
• “I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” – Walt Disney
• “Optimism inspires, energizes, and brings out our best. It points the mind toward possibilities and helps us think creatively past problems.” – Price Pritchett
1. “In the hour of adversity, be not without hope; for crystal rain falls from black clouds.” – Nizam
It is important to remember that being optimistic doesn’t literally mean seeing rainbows and butterflies all the time. Instead, being optimistic means that you know things won’t always go your way, but despite that, you remain confident that you will overcome your challenges eventually.
Having an optimistic mindset is a trait that most successful people possess. Once you master the balance between optimism and accepting reality, you’ll have discovered how to be happy, content, and ultimately victorious.
I have noticed that there is a lot of negative thinking from Registered Citizens, whether it be at meetings or on this site. Yes we are the victims of a very flawed Registry but we need to be more positive and rejoice in the smallest of victories no matter what state or court they are won in. Those of us that are setting behind a computer and probably has a roof over our head and food in the refrigerator , need to be positive and keep fighting for those that don’t have our privilege’s. Just the fact that a court in PA found the registry “PUNITIVE” our cheers should have been heard through out the US! Thank you to Contributor #3 for keeping us so informed on what is going on in the US. He/she is doing a FANTASTIC job!!!!
I suspect that #6 is referring to me as one of the “haters” because some of my comments seem negative. I was not being negative, I was being realistic. I was suggesting that it was too early to celebrate a “victory” in Pennsylvania on the basis of language used by 1 judge in a trial court. Anyone reading their Supreme Court decision carefully will see that they have not affirmed that decision yet. If they had, their registry would have been instantly abolished, because it’s completely unconstitutional. I urged similar caution a couple of years ago when everyone celebrated prematurely over the decimation of Michigan’s registry because of Does v Snyder. I’m in Michigan. The registry is still being enforced.
It’s great to have a positive attitude and belief that things will change for the better. But honesty is important too. If I am a hater of anything, I’m a hater of injustice. I hate that I’m on a sex offender registry for life. But I have never contributed any opinions to this forum that are not based on facts.
Brilliant and well articulated. This is 100% correct guys, hold it together! It’s baby steps, but every single one helps build precedent. Keep your heads held high and DO NOT let this/them beat us.
I’m past president of Toastmasters International and a past president the Florida Jaycees. And when I say past president, I mean of the “local chapters” and not the national chapters. It was great position hold with both organizations during my incarceration. It was my job to plan events for our chapter, which would include fund raising, talent shows, movie nights, two nights, and probably other things. Everything always went well for me because, well, I have a personality that can be persuasive. I spent a lot of hours making plans and contacting people on the “outside” to get our plans in action.
As president of Toastmasters International, I had developed a program called CONversations. It was a talk show like format. I would have guest from “outside” sitting up on stage. I would ask some questions and so would the audience members.
The rest of the club members worked really hard to get this program ready. There were a lot of hoops, as one would imagine in a prison. The stage had to be set up. There was a banner made. And there were flyers that were made to post in the chow hall, the chapel, and the library.
The Toastmaster board and I met several times to discuss who we were going to invite to our first program. Everyone seemed to agree, and everyone seemed to be excited.
In the first show that we had, I interviewed a public defender and someone from some other rights group. They were up on stage and, just like Phil Donahue, I asked them questions. Afterwards, several members of the audience were allowed to ask questions. I had 4 by 6 cards with my questions written on them and on the back of the cards was the word CONversations.
The audience consisted of my fellow inmates and a dozen or so COs. It was a true event for the whole compound. In fact, the guards who were on duty that night, watching to make sure nobody attacked our guest, applauded each time the audience applauded. Inmates and staff congratulated me. I felt proud that I was able to bring such a program to the inmates. There were no incidences. Phil would have been proud of me.
The prison officials were so impressed with my program that they asked me to put on another program like this one. They sent people from Tallahassee to videotape the program. Oh, how I wish I had a copy of that tape.
In the second program…I think we had a retired Circuit Court judge and a patient advocate. The program was another success. I was ready for my next program. I was ready to take it on the road. From one institution to another. CONversations.
However, not everyone was happy. There were people who took offense to those that were on stage. There were people who wanted somebody other than the ones that were there. My questions weren’t the right ones. Why didn’t I ask say the judge, why did I get sentenced to so much time?
My Christian friends had complaints. Why didn’t they bring any outside ministers? Why was the program that I had on the only night that church was available? The Muslim brothers wanted their own program.
Even those club members who helped putting the program together had complaints. There was so much complaining and bickering that the administration closed the program. I was hurt. It was fun, not just for me, but for those who attend it. More, it would open avenues to more like-programs for the prison.
Almost everyone has heard the following warning. “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:24-25
When I read the FAC WEEKLY UPDATE FOR 2022-08-30 I felt it important to support the men and women who fight the tough battles EVERY SINGLE DAY.
They don’t fight just Florida issues that are unconstitutional, they also fight federal laws. Laws that deny our Constitutional rights. They fight with local sheriff’s departments. (Duval, Brevard, Leon, and many other sheriff departments.) TRICK OR TREAT??
They stay current on laws and court cases ALL OVER THESE 50 STATES. They have attorneys and other legal eagles who volunteer their time and resources to interpret the legal stuff. They file lawsuits, restraining orders, and other legal documents on behalf of ALL registrants.
Can you even imagine the number of materials that pours into them? The mounds of mail they get; omg, I can’t imagine how many emails they must get. They must read, decipher, investigate, and disseminate.
Sure, haters will be haters. Every person is different. Some people feel that they are not understood or valued by others. Conflict is an inevitable part of human relationships. I believe that FAC is fighting the good fight. Thank you dedicated men and women who volunteer your time.
Thank you Pastor Scott.
It’s comments like these that keep us motivated.