Are you kidding me?!?!?!
I’m posting early in the morning because this one kept me awake for most of the night.
Senate Bill 932 sponsored by Senator Wright and it’s companion bill House Bill 141 sponsored by Representative Leek, are making their way through the Florida legislature, The Bills would amend the Florida divorce statute to provide that:
“The court may not grant a parent time-sharing with a minor child if the parent is required to register as a sexual offender under s. 943.0435 or a sexual predator under s. 775.21″ unless the court makes a “specific finding in writing that the registrant poses no significant risk of harm to the child and that time-sharing is in the best interest of the child.”
WHAT THE F…?!?!?!
So if you have a sexual offense in your past, no matter what it was, no matter if it was years or decades before you get married and start a family, and you happen to get divorced, even for reasons completely unrelated to the offense, the court may not grant you time sharing (custody) with your own children unless the court specifically finds in writing you present no significant risk of harm to the child?
So if you get divorced you automatically lose your children and it’s up to a judge whether you can see them again and the burden on the judge is for them, not a qualified practitioner in risk assessments, but the judge, to make a specific written finding that you present no significant risk of harm to the child?
We have seen plenty of cases where a judge has a bias against someone on the registry or found that even a “negligible risk” or “less than 1 percent risk” is not “no risk” or “zero risk”, even though “zero risk” does not exist on the risk assessment instruments.
Anyone who is on the registry and has minor children, whether presently married or divorced, should be very concerned. If this horrible bill passes it will change the dynamic of families of registrants immediately.
Below are the links to the bills:
https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/932
https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/141
Look for a CALL TO ACTION this coming week.
Yes another bad Bill, what else is new if Florida!
Another factor is what would the court evaluate to consider you a “low risk” so you would be able to have parental rights? I would assume that your case would be evaluated as well as a current “Sex Offender” Evaluation (s). The problem with this is two (2) fold:
1. As we all know the case facts that the court most likely will go by would be the Governments version, which makes everyone look like a monster!
2. Evaluations cost money and time and you would have to be reasonable for getting these done, thats not including other things the court may need or want for evaluation, including Polygraph tests, Sex Offender Therapy classes, etc..
So, to sum up I see this as another no win situation and another bill that again diminishes our already violated civil rights!
Another problem with evaluations, as we have seen in other states, is that when the evaluation doesn’t go the state’s way, they discredit it and seek another opinion, even if the evaluation was conducted by their person.
I’d like to write these Senators ,perhaps you could publish their mailing addresses and we could share our opinions with them?
Thank you for posting in the morning. Otherwise many more people may have lost sleep. Your comments were just about right, so I won’t turn this into a raving diatribe, or drone on about how these people are brain dead political opportunists.
I do encourage everyone to respond to the coming call to action. And I mean not just Floridians. Draconian stupidity tends to creep across the country. In the wake of the moral panic surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, my (elected) attorney general used the opportunity to opine about how our state was “behind” others in its registration laws.
Veritas.
Like I said it’s open season in florida and it’s nothing no one can do about it.Well folks my family and I are leaving this state in 6 months it’s a trap I wish everyone good luck and if you’re smart you’d try to relocate as well
Good for you Tired. I say “Don’t feed the beast” by paying taxes, patronizing FL businesses, etc. If you don’t have voting rights, your vote is wasted in FL. Move to another state where you can make your voice count and where you are not persecuted in every facet of your existence.
And if you flourish in your new state, use your influence and resources to help those left behind through supporting FAC.
I believe Peter Aiken had said to look for a friendlier state. I agree with him – maybe a U.S. commonwealth.
But wait…the registry is not punitive, its only administrative. (SARCASM OF COURSE). This bill is truly outrageous! Who are these legislators anyway?
What a easy way for a vindictive spouse to strip registrants of their children and I bet the registrant would still be held responsible for child support afterwards. Once again guilty before any crime has been committed
I have been through this so I can speak from experience on this.
When you go through a divorce very seldom are you on good terms with your ex. If you are on the registry or even just accused of any thing your ex is going to use that to their full advantage anyway whether there are any laws to their advantage or not.
Judges always rule on the side of caution. If there is anything at all that that might enable someone to later be able to point a finger at them and say “ I told you so” They are never going to take a chance, Their job and reputation is at stake.
All this law will do is give the judges a way out to do what there doing anyway. Now they can just say I didn’t have a choice , so nobody can later say you were not looking after the best interest of the child. Now they don’t have to rule on facts at hand ,they don’t have to look at facts , Just use laws.
I noticed that child custody arguments are one avenue by which divorce decrees can be modified. With a vindictive spouse and the wrong judge, could custody be retroactively denied or dramatically altered?
Yes. Absolutely
We had a citizen required to register pardoned by our outgoing Governor Jay Nixon several years ago. After trying to discuss the issue of them being told they had 30 days to move as they were 10 feet too close to a Catholic church and school. They had been living there for years and years. After attempting to talk to their state legislators and getting into a debate with the senator’s chief of staff who pissed me off I called the editor of the Kansas City Star. After telling him the sheriff’s deputy said they had 70 more letters to deliver to families in the county. That caught his attention and he sent a reporter out. The issue evolved from the school to the divorce and Earnest Leap was pardoned. It was front page news in the Star.
Do we know of ANY case in which a FL registered SO abused their own child post-divorce?
If not, we might point that out.
Point out facts? That really is funny. They have no concern for facts or reality.
A child needs their father. Even if the father is divorced and registered.
A child needs to be protected from a father that abuses them. But abusive is not the same thing as divorced and registered. Abuse is already illegal.
I would like Florida to be a family-friendly state. The state should not be in the business of family separation unless there is a danger to the child. This law would create, for the first time, a state presumption that being divorced + registered makes one a danger to ones own child, amirite?
Thanks for considering my talking points. Feel free to use them if you find them persuasive.
This has the ability to spill over into other limitations in other FS. As a grandparent on the registry who has daily contact with a grandchild (we homeschool him) this is just another layer of punishment.
Making it impossible for the Judge to use best judgement when dealing with visitation of a minor is just another poke in our face.
Where do these “lawgivers” come up with these ideas? Maybe they stay up all night as well.
What prompted the introduction of this bill?
A similar bill has been floated in SC in the current session.
Ideas and bills get floated state to state due to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and you can see it going from state to state. The statute of limitations is an example.
East answer; To create problems where there are no problems. It keeps them working and earning our tax dollars.
Even if you of the “but if it saves one child” philosophy…You should oppose this law. Separating a child from their parent for a technical reason (divorced registrant) is FAR more likely to endanger the child than to protect them.
If the child is in fact endangered by one of the parents, the court is ALREADY empowered by the state to separate them, even if the dangerous parent is not a divorced registrant! Right?
The “if it saves one child” approach would be to vote “no.”
Registry Supporters/Terrorists do not care about children.
This will never hold water in court. To say that one child is safe to live with his parent because his parents live together and another is not because they live separate is irrational. The U.S. Supreme Court has already made clear that such irrebuttable presumptions are unconstitutional.
Parents shouldn’t fear this if it passes. This forces Florida registrants to spend more on legal fees. This is why it is important to seek monetary compensation in these lawsuits, so these morons stop passing unconstitutional laws.
The Supreme Court upheld irrebutable presumption in 2003.
Flora-Duh’s of SCOTUS?
The only reference I found in the bills is for a rebuttable presumption, and no mention of an irrebuttable presumption. Did I miss something?
Veritas.
All Florida registrants are subject to an irrebuttable presumption of dangerousness. With very few exceptions, they cannot obtain registry removal, or avoid community notification, by demonstrating that they are not dangerous.
So, you are saying that the FDLE CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE???
Hmmmmm?
The Idiocracy of such a law is in the fact that if the parent in question is a danger, we’re they not always a danger even while married? What does a separation have any difference in the matter? What if the parent in question is in another relationship with someone else? What if that someone else has children? I’ve stated enough times that law makers will keep pushing the boundaries of legality, until people push back.
Go back 20 years ago. I took custody of my daughter from her mother with a conviction. The judge looked at my stability and her mother’s instability and gave me custody.
She went on to go to UK , married and had three kids. If this were the case today. The courts could have easily gave my daughter to her mother. And she would probaly be a life long drug addict like here mom.
This B.S. has gone way too far.
Can you run this one past your lawyers? I was brought up that there are 3 parts to OUR government not just 2 so how can the legislative branch tell the judicial branch what to do in their area of domain?
Btw I was a single man raising my son in Florida granted custody he’s 30 now and doing great ty every much
The legislative branch has already told the judicial branch that defendants convicted of sex offenses be required to register. They have also, for some offenses, set mandatory minimum sentences.
The legislature dictates many things over which courts have no discretion. We sometimes complain about “legislating from the bench,” when the real problem is precisely the opposite.
Here’s a URL with numerous court cases in opposition to what these nutjobs are proposing. Are there no legislators anymore with even a SHRED of understanding of law? I hate to pine for the days of more lawyers in legislatures, but….
https://fathersunite.org/Constitution/constitutional_right_2B_parent.html
If it makes it to the Governor’s desk, it sure seems like having a request for permanent injunction waiting in the wings would be prudent.
BUT
I Damn sure bet you still have to make those child support payments?
Jacob:
I’m not aware of any case where the U.S. Supreme Court or a federal Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an irrebuttable presumption. If you know of a case, let me know. There may be a stray state court case that upheld an irrebuttable presumption but the overwhelming number of cases have found irrebuttable presumptions unconstitutional.
Doe v Smith was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003. This may be the case you are alluding to but Does v Smith didn’t address irrebuttable presumptions. I don’t know which case you are referring to.
Detroit
Yes all these court cases are good to keep in mind if you have pockets as deep as the government. If you don’t court cases mean nothing and your screwed.
Thanks AJ. There’s actually a lot of cases there that I haven’t read yet. Unfortunately, it appears this site is no longer active. All of their links and contact info are dead links. It would be nice to see someone pick up this effort again.
These people really need to get their asses kicked. However, since we can’t do that, make sure we make PHONE CALLS!!
Well another 23 people arrested today in brevard county for vehicles and internet names and not being able to verify address this is bad is something about to change or what people need guidance face this is ridiculous isn’t it something you can do they’re going to arrest every offender on the registry before the month is out good Lord they even got people for not reporting employment why are they doing this!!!
Dear Tired,
Where are you getting your information about all these arrests in Brevard County? I haven’t seen it on local news (ie Wesh 2, Click Orlando and WFTV 9). Seems if this is happening, Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey would make a press conference. But I can’t find any. Thanks.
Space coast daily mugshots look at last week’s mugshots and read the charges and count the people.Better wake up and read!
Amazed at your ability to get instantaneous data on Brevard registrant mass arrests. Not sure how you do it, but thank you for keeping tabs on them.
Why are they doing this? Because it’s popular. It helps motivate voters to re-elect the sheriff and council members to approve sheriffs’ budgets. And, judging from reports of USMS involvement, it can be done partly with Federal funds.
Unfortunately https://spacecoastdaily.com publishes Brevard’s arrests online, including the mugshot and the charge. I don’t want to share the direct links because I don’t want to give it SEO promotion, but if you look at the last few days, you’ll see A LOT of FTRs (mostly vehicle registrations). I didn’t bother counting but there were a lot, too many to be a random coincidence.
Thanks for clarification, FAC. I am a bit surprised that our local news stations, especially WFTV, haven’t run stories on Sheriff Ivey’s efforts to jail citizens forced to register. I’ve never heard of the site you mentioned.
Jacob
Just think, with these new arrests, they may have just done away with any chance these people had of ever getting off the registry. A lot of times an arrest after you were put on the registry can screw you when it was your time to try and get off.
The pressure we are putting on the law makers is obviously pissing them off so they are being devious and doing what ever they can to make our lives Hell. AND they could care less about how it affects our families.
Well, if they are an “offender” as you called them, then they need to be arrested. Language matters.
Most people who are listed on the Hit Lists are not offenders. They are People Forced to Register. That’s all.
They are Registered and signed up to be harassed by big government. Big government obviously has far too many resources.
All good Americans need to focus on taking resources from law enforcement. Let’s make them broke and dysfunctional.
The Dems are promoting criminal justice reform and prison reform but the darn ‘reptilian brain’ will get in the way again unless we step up to change hearts and minds.
Another thing overlooked:
“The court may not grant a parent time-sharing with a minor child if the parent is required to register as a sexual offender under s. 943.0435 or a sexual predator under s. 775.21″ unless the court makes a “specific finding in writing that the registrant poses no significant risk of harm to the child and that time-sharing is in the best interest of the child.”
Judges very seldom write their own opinions and rulings these days. 99% of the time, they just scratch their name on whatever is in front of them without reading anything but the signature block.
Before anyone panics, start at Troxel v Granville, 530 US 57 (2001). Go to googlescholar and read this opinion and limit your citation search to Florida, the Florida federal courts, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. After reading a little you will be able to form an opinion on the viability of this legislation.
Rest assured, if this bill passes the new law will be joining the Titanic.
Meanwhile in the federal system under a new administration:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/02/08/ice-raid-to-arrest-illegal-alien-sex-offenders-cancelled-at-last-minute/
We all need a list of all State and Federal lawmakers, to write to.
With our new administration, will come new laws and attitudes.
I do not want to be in the same class as an Illegal Immigrant. Persons from many other countries do not have the beliefs or controls over their behavior. Pornography and Human Trafficking tend to originate from abroad.
Yes. I do agree completely. The worst thing even worse than not having people to write to is that there is no public hearings, at least where I’m at, that give you the opportunity to be heard, like in other states. They seem to be doing all of it behind closed doors because they probably know that their arguments would not hold water in a public setting.
Another horrific bill advances
https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/122
Don’t want your newborn? Just chuck it in a bin!