Michigan Supreme Court decision on nonsexual offenses and the SO registry
In Florida, kidnapping or false imprisonment of a minor can land a person on the Florida sex offense registry, even though a sex crime was not committed.
The Michigan Supreme Court says that such a placement on the registry is unconstitutional. It is cruel or unusual punishment, barred by the Michigan Constitution.
According to the ACLU of Michigan, there are approximately 300 people on the Michigan registry for nonsexual crimes.
How is simple possession of CP where there are no known victims and therefore no known ages a sexual offense, especially when there is also no evidence of producing the alleged CP, nor evidence of sharing it? On Florida’s SO registry for life with no probationary period left and no other supervision. So injust.
@Not
You can do what many have done and challenge the law. The biggest hurdle is paying for that challenge.
Dear Cherokee, yes. I have fought and fought. But I’m now broke with no way to rebuild what I had. Because of the registry, I often get fired from jobs or not even hired at all. I no longer have the means to fight. It’s the end for me.
Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old. Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19
@Not
It may be the end of your financial fight, but it is NOT the end of your social fight. You do this by educating the people around you of the REAL recidivism rate along with actual statistics and links to those statistics that prove that the ‘frightening and high’ recidivism rate is a myth and even the DOJ admits that.You don’t always need money to put up a good legal fight-just tact. I have heard people say things like ‘SO’s that have got out of prison are going to re-offend and those that haven’t been sent back just haven’t got caught yet’ to which I say to them ‘That is an argument from silence! There is not one shred of evidence that all or even most SO’s go back to sexual crime. The most reliable statistics show that less than 5% ever criminally re-offend and less than 50% of that 5% sexually re-offend.’
Sad to say, most cases will only be won on an individual level that will not impact everyone, because the registry is now part of the political mud-slinging theater and therefore it will literally take an act of God for it to be abolished across the U.S. like slavery was.
So:
Fight by prayer.
Fight by education.
Fight by example.
Many who fought on the right sides throughout various wars in all of history died before they ever saw the victory, but they were willing to give their lives for what was right not knowing if they would see the outcome.
As I said, it might be the financial end of the fight for you, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the social fight.
So stand strong, and when the enemy attacks, fight back and hold your ground.
Remember, you are not alone.
But they still committed a crime and so did we, but we are not being punished? If it is punishment for someone that committed a non-sexual offense, it should still be labeled as punishment for us as well. How do you have a double standard on this and not make us laugh ourselves into a coma?
In closing, the registry is either punishment or it isn’t. You can’t pick and choose and have different rules for the registry. I agree they do not belong on it, but if it was punishment for them, it is punishment for all. (Hint, it is about funding, funding, funding)
Agreed. They could have just said that the registry is not punishment and therefore no changes are necessary. They just admitted the registry IS punishment.
F.A.C should be all over that. That statement made by officials is a legal statement that can be used in court. Someone of importance declared the registry punishment.
Being punished AFTER your sentence is up, is illegal. Does anyone not see the problem there legally and officially?
Help, we are drowning here. We are experiencing an Oxymoron situation. Like the word contradiction, an oxymoron is something that really shouldn’t make sense. The registry I believe falls under this category.
So an effective 50 year prison sentence is legal, but registration as a Tier I sexual offender is cruel and unusual punishment in Michigan. Interesting.
If I were to move to Michigan, under current Michigan law I would be required to register even though neither my offense nor its underlying conduct would constitute a crime in that state. Wouldn’t that be even more severe cruel and unusual punishment under the court’s rationale?
The Supreme Court just called it punishment. No? When I committed my offense in another state, my face was not on the internet, I did not have any restrictions that florida makes me follow. I could visit any park while on probation. They even took me off the registry before I moved to Florida with my wife. Yet after getting here, I am treated like a level 3 offender in Washington state. I am ranting. But it is punishment, we need to take advantage of the decision while we have the opportunity. I will put my name on any suit anybody wants to bring forward.
I cannot believe I am in the same boat as you I also was convicted in Washington state over 30 years ago and yet the state of Washington by court order has released me from the registry and yet Florida will not honor that is the US Constitution says under full faith and credit that Florida is required I say again required to honor a court order from another state and yet they are not honoring it I was informed by FDLE that Florida law and Florida Constitution supersede federal law and Federal Constitution I don’t know what reality they live in but they do not live in the real world
The Decent wrote:
“The majority opinion ignores that countless Michigan families rely on the registry to ensure their safety. … Registration provides vital information for the parent who must choose a babysitter or entrust a child with a volunteer coach,” said Zahra, who was joined by Justice David Viviano.
1. I am scared for any family who is “relying on the registry to ensure their safety.”
2. That such a statement is a reason to put non-sexual offenses on a sex offender registry is so ridiculous that it questions the very integrity of the judge(s) who wrote it.
Forced interaction and engagement with law enforcement is punishment. Not to mention life-threatening
Supreme Court Decisions’ well they make mistakes like every body else. Why would one ask for a picture after giving them a regular picture of oneself?. We could ask why in many of these non-sexual issues but the facts speak for themself. How presumptions of them. If the punishment doesn’t fit the crime why would they give a plea deal in the first place. Answer… They don’t have enough evidence To avoid a trail, etc Remember they know what they are doing.
Placement on the registry is unconstitutional and puts many in jeopardy with this abusive registry. If Government can’t do law right they don’t have to demoralize others in these ruses and cons.