Judges find 2015 law unconstitutional as applied to registered sex offender

Below is another excellent decision, finding conditions of registration punishment and a violation of the Ex Post Facto clause of the Constitution:

A 2015 law meant to prohibit certain sex offenders from entering school property is unconstitutional as it applies to a Howard County man who has already completed his punishment for his 2010 child solicitation conviction, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

In January 2010, Douglas Kirby was charged with Class C felony child solicitation after he was accused of using a computer to solicit a teenager for sex. Kirby agreed to plead guilty to the less-included offense of Class D felony child solicitation, which the trial court accepted.

As part of his plea agreement, Kirby was sentenced to a term of 18 months, all suspended to probation, and was subject to the special recommended probation conditions for adult sex offenders, including an order for him to register as a sex offender for 10 years. However, Kirby was granted permission to enter school property to attend and observe his son’s school activities.

After completing his probation, Kirby successfully petitioned to have his conviction reduced to a Class A misdemeanor in February 2015. But the following July 1, the Unlawful Entry Statute went into effect, making it a Level 6 felony for individuals convicted of certain crimes, include Kirby’s crime, to enter school property.

After learning of the statute, Kirby filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which was denied after an evidentiary hearing. He then appealed in Douglas Kirby v. State of Indiana, 34A02-1609-CR-2060, arguing the statute, as applied to him, is unconstitutional because it amounts to retroactive punishment in violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause.

The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed Thursday and reversed the denial of Kirby’s PCR petition. In a unanimous opinion, Judge Cale Bradford wrote that under Indiana’s “intent-effects” test used to evaluate constitutional ex post facto claims, each of the seven factors in Wallace v. State, 905 N.E.2d 371, 378 (Ind. 2009), weigh in favor of being punitive against Kirby, which means the statute is a violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause as it relates to him.

“Importantly, the record is devoid of any suggestion that Kirby behaved inappropriately at any time while one school property,” Bradford said. “Also, by the time the Statute went into effect, Kirby had completed all forms of punishment imposed by the trial court, except for his continued registration on the sex offender registry. To suddenly deny Kirby of the opportunity to attend his son’s activities for no reason other than his prior conviction is excessive.”

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13 thoughts on “Judges find 2015 law unconstitutional as applied to registered sex offender

  • October 16, 2017

    I’m now married to the father of my two kids who i love so much.Before all these sudden happiness took place in my life i went through hell.I dated my husband for 8years with little breakup’s between until a whore came into our life who was my best friend.When i discovered my husband was cheating on me with her i was so mad at him that i could not even look at him anymore.As time went on i and my husband was trying to fix things but my best friend wanted us to be apart from each other in other to have him to herself which she later achieved.Soon my husband wasn’t paying attention to me anymore.All he could think of was how he could dump me and his two beautiful kids in other to be with my best friend.I was so heart broken because i loved him so much i tried all means to get him back but it wasn’t possible.After a long while of unhappiness i meant a spell caster on-line whose name is dr Noruwa, i explained my problem to him and he demanded for some materials to prepare a spell and i proved the materials and since then my life has been transformed from sadness to total happiness. If you have a similar problem he might be the right person to solve your problem so if anyone need his help contact him via d DRNORUWASPELLHOME@GMAIL.COM all your problem will be solve.

    Reply
    • October 16, 2017

      ummm,, what does this have to do with this forum???

      are you suggestion we put spells on lawmakers??

      Reply

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