Oral Arguments to take place in Miami-Dade Residency Restriction Case today
This morning the 11th Circuit will hold oral arguments in our case challenging Miami-Dade County’s sex offender residence restriction.
Daniel Tilley, from the ACLU will be doing the argument on behalf of the individuals who are legislated into homelessness by the Miami-Dade Ordinance named after Lauren Book.
The case is: 19-10254 John Doe #6, et al., Appellants v. Miami-Dade County
Please direct lots of good thoughts and prayers to the lawyers and Mr. Tilley this morning as another battle in this long-standing challenge is being fought.
Praying. 🙏🙏
I’m praying this will change in Dade.
My brother has been cast out like trash to live on the streets in Broward. The conditions are deplorable. There is garbage, human feces and RATS EVERYWHERE! No place to wash up or sleep. He sleeps on cardboard from the trash dumpster. He is 61 yrs old and has many health issues. He has a place to live (with me). His monitor could easily be changed to my house during the hours of 10pm-6am. Just like they have it set at the parking lot where he is forced to live. He didn’t have the money to defend himself. While in prison the SA sent him a motion for post conviction relief due to a DNA screw up at BSO but he never got it. It followed him around from prison to prison and was kept in classifications dept at the prison. By the time he got out last year the SA said too much time had elapsed. If there is anyone out there that knows of an atty that might take his case pro bono. Plz let me know. The Innocence Project wouldn’t touch it .thx
RSG
I hope it works out for everyone living with these harsh conditions that no human should be forced to live under. Sounds like your brother would have a place to call home if these conditions are called what they are wrong. People that call your brother and everyone else that have committed a sex crime a monster; when they are in fact the true monsters. Hope all goes well in sunny south Florida with truth and justice prevailing; while the Books ordinances tumbling down.
I’ve been on the registration for 22 years I was a young man when it happened. I was 17 years old. I’m now 39 and I’m catching hell from jobs and places to stay, I really need help getting off of it. Can anyone help me please ?
If you’ve been off probation (or any sanction) for at least 20 years and not been arrested for another offense you should consider petitioning for removal. contact legal@floridaactioncommittee.org
I was charged and sentenced in early 1998 and finished all sanctions in 2006. Previously back in ’98, I was told that once I finished everything for at least 10 years I could petition to have my designation removed. I had fallen under the 10-year rule before it changed on October 1, 1998. Of course, years later that had all been changed to life which removed my chances to petition for the change in my designation even though I’ve been done from any probation or parole for the past 14 years. Is there anything that I can do to try to change my destination now?
You can consult with an attorney, but from what we’ve seen, in another 6 years, when you’ve done 20 without arrest, you can petition for removal. in 1998 when you became subject to the law it was 20 years.
Actually, it’s 10 years for me. It’s after October 1, 1998 is when it became 20 years. My crime was committed in March of 98 and my adjudication date was September 10th. Here is how it’s worded and here is a link to that source info:
https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/OGC/Documents/Legal-Bulletins/98-02-Guidelines-to-Florida-Sex-Offender-Laws.aspx
A sexual predator who was designated a sexual predator by
a court before October 1, 1998 and who has been lawfully
released from confinement, supervision or sanction for 10
years and has not been arrested for any felony or
misdemeanor since release, may petition the court for
removal of the designation. A sexual predator or sexual
offender who was designated by a court on or after October
1, 1998, and released from supervision or confinement for
at least 20 years and has not been arrested for any felony
or misdemeanor offense since release, may petition the
court for removal of the sexual offender/predator
designation.
Yes – for predators, there was an opportunity to downgrade the predator designation.
I had posted a reply to your comment but I don’t know why it didn’t make it to the thread. I was simply stating that I was given the sexual predator designation due to a previous 1995 conviction and that in early 1998 I was told by my lawyer and the prosecution at the time of sentencing that I was before the 10-year change to 20-years. My question is is there a way I can still have this looked at? I am going to have to move in a few months and having this designation as a predator instead of an offender really makes a big difference especially moving into a new neighborhood. I have been living in my current home for the past 15 years without too many problems and I’m not sure how to find somewhere to live that has the 2,500-foot buffer rule.
I didn’t post your comment because the situation is a bit uncommon since it’s unique to the predator designation. You are referring to downgrading the predator status, but not removing the requirement to register.
Candidly, it’s not an area that we’ve come across to share anecdotal information on. You might want to ask one of the attorneys on our referral list and while I’m sure they would not file the petition on your behalf for free, they would also not take your money to do something that was not possible (at least the attorneys we refer to).
The other unfortunate thing is there is no distinction between predator/offender with respect to municipal SORRs (that we know of). Some municipal residency restrictions exclude people whose offenses are against someone above a certain age or before a certain year, but I’ve personally not seen one that says “Predators” are excluded but “Offenders” are OK. You might find you’re in the same boat being an offender.
I understand that my situation is more on the unique side but isn’t what the ex post facto lawsuits are not only about not adding things retroactively but also not to take away things in the same way? I was told if your good for 10 years you can petition to have this removed but before I got that far they moved the goal post to life. There is one thing that would make a difference in regards to SORR rules that I know of. If you are moving into a new address and you are a predator the police HAVE to notify the neighborhood but if you are an offender it’s up to the discretion of the police department. Plus as sad as it is labels matter. If you move somewhere new, get a new job, take classes at a college telling them, or having them find out you are designated a predator is far worse than offender. The problem is they automatically think of the worst situation possible. In American people are grouped into classes and labeled and yes an offender label is bad but predator is worse to a degree. I mean look at the driver’s licenses. I had for years a license with just the predator statute number in the corner. Now that I had to renew it I have a SEXUAL PREDATOR label in the corner. When I had to use my license before no one noticed it. Now I show my license and people look at me like I’m going to rob them or something.
Praying and Praying some more. Good luck and thanks to the whole team working on this.
Not much difference in a list for people to look you up hunt you down and kill you than a list for county’s to seek retribution and political gain from. We are not free men. Having to Leave our homes to communicate with police is not being free. Traveling to an untrusted county who has personal information about you is not being free. We are slaves!
You know what I’m saying providing a list to these people is unprecedented since slavery saying here is a list do what you want there will be no resistance a list of humans most on the list are stupid reasons and not dangerous but without considering the lives and cases in each sole and making blanket repercussions. Those of us that took pleas should be able to sue for breach of contract with these retroactive conditions. I was never told my county was gonna be able to attack me with new laws as they please or what the list consisted of I thought my name was just on a list that they kept up themselves this is a lot of work on my end.
Slavery exists today however it’s more than a person’s skin. Now if you commit any kind of sex crime you are now a servant of the government. Even there are no chains or whips it is abusing human beings. It’s always was and will be wrong only if people aren’t blind.
Please FAC, update us on the questions the judges ask and how things went today. Thanks!
We will cover it in our weekly update but don’t want to speculate while the case is still open and these comments are public.
Sending positive thoughts their way. Doing God’s work!