Montana Supreme Court rules Ex Post Facto registry requirements punishment and unconstitutional
Better words can’t be written in a court opinion: “Under our constitution, citizens have the right to be free from retroactive punishment,” the decision said. The Montana Supreme Court ruled recently that the application of new laws after someone’s conviction is unconstitutional. The requirements of the registry are so demanding that it represents punishment. The combination of the punishing nature of the registry and the after the fact (Ex Post Facto) application rendered it unconstitutional to both the Montana and the US Constitution.
Montana’s registry for sexual and violent offenders is very similar to most states. It started simple and unobtrusive in the lives of those affected. It only involved mailing a post card. Time on the registry was also supposed to expire. Over years of having the registry in place, so many requirements and punishments for failure to comply were added with each revision that it was deemed to control the lives of those forced to be on it.
As troubling to the Judges, was their alarm at the lack of benefit to having people on the registry. No evidence was presented that convinced them that all these new requirements were reducing sexual or violent crime rates. They concluded the registry only existed to ostracize those forced to be on it.
This ruling will benefit all Montanans forced to register whose crimes were before major changes took place to registry requirements. It is a very big win.
During my intake classes the PO calls me in to read and sign a paper saying I knew I was talking to a teenager which I refused to sign. He told me it was just a formality. Guess that was to safeguard themselves. Even the officer that arrested me said I didn’t have any porno on my computer.
With this Supreme Court decision many states will follow suit as court systems are becoming aware this registry is unjust and wrong in many respects in this con game inducement on many And people are filing suits also.
I was placed on the registry in Feb.2000 for making a comment and gesture. Sentenced to 5 years prison followed by 5 years probation. I successfully completed probation in 2008 and had been arrest free until Oct. 2022 when I was arrested for failing to include a utility trailer in the vehicles owned portion of my bi-yearly registration paperwork. These requirements were not in place at the time of my sentencing and because of this arrest I am no longer eligible to petition the court to be removed from the registry. How is this retroactive law not punishment?
@Jimmy
You should be ashamed of yourself owning a trailer that could lead to a sex offense (I am being sarcastic of course)
These things are just made up to do just what they did to you, cause you to mess up so you cannot ever be removed.
B to the S = BS ways to bar us from relief.
Sad when they cannot find enough legit crime to justify their job.
I came close once myself when I broke down in front of a school. Someone stopped and helped me push the vehicle onto the shoulder and about 10 minutes later a police cruiser pulled behind me and ran my plate. I explained I had already called for help to get towed and there was nothing I could do. He called his supervisor who told him as long as I did not go on the property and stayed with the vehicle until the tow truck came, I was in the clear.