Statement from attorney Val Jonas on impact of Judge Hinkle’s order
On March 25, 2024, Federal District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, of the Northern District of Florida, ruled that the requirement under Section 943.0435(4)(a) that people registered as sex offenders report in-person travel within the state of Florida to the FDHSMV violates substantive due process, and is thus unconstitutional. His order declared that this requirement is irrational and very burdensome for registrants. His order makes clear that the requirement under Section 943.0435(4)(a) to make an in-person report within 48 hours to the FDHSMV applies only to a change of home address (where one lives), and not to a temporary in-state residence. For in-state temporary residences, instead of going in-person to the DHSMV, people registered as sex offenders must report only to the sheriff’s office. Furthermore, they will be able to do so online, not in person. The order directed FDLE to make online access for in-state travel reporting available within 60 days.
It is unclear from the order if in-state travel reporting is required, not only after establishing the temporary residence, but also upon return from the temporary residence. We will seek clarification of this point.
Please be aware that the order does NOT change the requirement under Section 943.0435(7) that registrants report in-person at least 48 hours before establishing an out-of-state residence. Judge Hinkle’s order makes clear that out-of-state travel is governed only by subsection (7) of Section 943.0435, and not subsection (4)(a). Because subsection 7 is silent about reporting upon return from out-of-state travel, it appears that return reporting from out-of-state is not required.
Can’t wait for the ruling from the other judge in South Florida.
Everything passed after your conviction date should not apply to the individual.
Well ive gotten threatened with arrest if i dont call the day i return. Im a constant traveller to the northeast and am told if i dont call and report im
Back theres a warrant. If i get back 1 day early i need to come in person even though the early day would negate my 3 days. Vcso needs to hear this. Im not on any probation or control for 20 plus years. Off my homestate registry and was actually never published there
@Anonymous
For me and many others, that would be everything would be thrown out. My conviction was before a registry was even proposed in Florida. It was not until the week I was being released that they implemented it.
My prize for getting out of prison early was to become a registered citizen. Imagine my joy, I mean horror. I have been a member of the registry club since 1997. Every year we get new gifts from the registry that we don’t want but cannot return.
That Mars colony is starting to sound sweet.
It will be bittersweet when that day comes. Ive been playing this game since 2002, when I was just 22 years old. As you know, it was just an annual thing and a couple things to report.
Fast Fwd 22’yrs : WTF …This was definitely not what I signed up for when I took a probation only deal.
Don’t be ridiculous, Cherokee Jack. You know perfectly well that if we all left this planet and moved to Mars, Florida would *still* keep us on their registry.
@Lauren
Both funny and not funny at the same time, if you know what I mean. One of those incidents where something is so ridiculous that you cannot help but laugh, otherwise you would cry.
Where do you see that anything pass your conviction should not apply? I didn’t understand it that way. This decision doe almost nothing to help people unless they travel instate for work a lot.
Thanks to everyone who had a hand in this, big or small. And my deep, heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Harper for being so very brave – her courage has benefitted us all.
Can anyone refresh my memory on Ex Post Facto I (Plus) that Judge Williams is deciding? What are the main issues left to be ruled on in that case (I know some were dismissed)? Do we have hope going forward with that one after Judge Hinkle’s order?
I’m still confused about out of state travel. If I want to drive from Florida to Maine and back over the course of two weeks without staying in the same hotel for more than 3 days, do I have to report that travel the the DHSMV and/or my local Sheriff’s Office? What if I want to travel in my boat to Georgia from Florida and back staying at different marinas? Do I register each marina in advance even if I just stay overnight? What if I stay anchored out, do I give the GPS coordinates?
Regardless of the laws of any state you visit, if you are still subject to Federal SORNA, you are required to report that you will be absent from your permanent residence for more than 7 days. That is part of the independent duty to register imposed by Federal SORNA. If you cross state lines, being absent for more than 7 days from your home and don’t register with your home jurisdiction, you will be guilty of a federal crime with a prison sentence of up to 10 years. That needs to be reported to your local sheriff’s office, not the DHSMV. That is even if you don’t otherwise establish a permanent, temporary, or transient residence out of state. If you are no longer subject to the provisions of Federal SORNA (meaning you are a Federal Tier I or Tier II offender and your 15 or 25 years have expired), then you would only need to worry about the laws of Florida and the states you visit. I would read the definition of “transient residence” in the Florida statutes carefully, however. It’s much broader than many people realize.
[Moderator’s note: the above linked ruling from Judge Hinkle states, “the term {transient residence} is apparently intended to apply to individuals who are homeless. Any attempt to parse the definition’s actual language might be futile…For both in-state and out-of-state travel, Florida ties the reporting requirement not to days away from home but to days away from home in the same location. A registrant who still has a home can travel for as long as the registrant wishes, without notifying anyone, so long as the registrant does not establish a new “permanent,” “temporary,” or “transient” “residence”…SORNA requires a registrant to provide information on travel only to seven days or more to a single location— referred to as temporary lodging].
While it’s true that Florida’s SOR law’s peculiar wording (peculiar compared to analogous travel reporting requirements of other states) really does say that you only have to report a destination if you will be establishing a permanent, temporary or transient address (whether in-state or out-of-state), my experience is that local sheriff’s department staffs don’t understand this technicality. They think you should report all travel, so I always report travel, with a start date, one destination regardless of how long I’m going to be at that destination, and a return date. That keeps even the worst hard-asses happy.
Meanwhile, this ruling about not having to report temporary addresses to DMV is a big relief to me. As some of you know, I have three “open-ended” temporary addresses in Florida and a permanent address out of state, and I travel a lot both in and out of state. Reporting addresses to DMV has been a logistical and practical impossibility for me, so I’m glad to be off the hook now.
The one thing in this that really turns my biscuits. Is the way it says we need to report travel to let law enforcement and the public know where we are because of crimes one MIGHT COMMIT. That’s a possibility for every human on this planet. Iv been on the registry since the day it started. At this rate I’ll be dead 50 years beofre I get removed. This is good in some ways. But man im over this $#it.
Actually the attorney is rock solid right as it is unconstitutional and unsettling if you want to understand this corruption. Much of this registry is unjust.
Hey courts make decisions every day. They don’t make choice as it is the choice of this court to sentence you to an uncertain amount of time. Seems that attorney knows that much of this registry is unfair, unjust, and vain in this mouse play in many ways. So who factors in all this unethical abuse.
I had 2 different officers in Jacksonville tell me that as long as I am not in one place more than 2 nights, I could travel out of state pretty much as long as I wanted without having to report my travel. That seems to contradict all the other responses above. I literally tried to report travel plans and was told I didn’t have to. This is crazy.
[Moderator’s note: The above linked decision states, ‘For both in-state and out-of-state travel, Florida ties the reporting requirement not to days away from home but to days away from home in the same location. A registrant who still has a home can travel for as long as the registrant wishes, without notifying anyone, so long as the registrant does not establish a new “permanent,” “temporary,” or “transient” “residence”’].
Thanks to the Moderator for the reminders about traveling without establishing a residence in the process. PFR’s can review the important email response from FDLE re: this issue for an even greater level of confidence: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/fdle-replies-to-domestic-travel-inquiry/
Sadly, if an ignorant cop busts you anyway, you’ll still likely have the arrest on your record.
Valerie Jonas and also everybody at FAC are Saints doing GODS work! We need our lives back! THANK YOU for everything yall do and sum!!🙏🏼 😥
Also RIP to Patrick Trese another good one we lost wayyyy too soon 😥
What’s the best way to convey this opinion and order to the city and county jurisdictions that have sex offender surveillance squads?
One of my biggest concerns not really addressed in the Fl. registration scheme is a line where it says that all sexual offenders have a “reduced expectation of privacy”. I used to assume that meant only being on a public registry where your address and vehicles etc. were displayed. Now I think that it could mean way more than just that. Does anyone really know?
The Florida Constitution does not have a guaranteed righ to one privacy. If it did, there might be a better path for relief from the public registry as is the case in other states.
Sorry, but yes it does.-
Art. I, § 23 – Right of privacy. Every natural person has the right to be left alone and free from governmental intrusion into his private life except as otherwise provided herein. This section shall not be construed to limit the public’s right of access to public records and meetings as provided by law.
Ok JC, it says right there in your post:
“This section shall not be construed to limit the public’s right of access to public records and meetings as provided by law.” They’re saying we don’t have a right to privacy because of the registry is public record according to law. That’s why we don’t win on this issue.
No one wins on the privacy issue unless it is specifically overruled for whatever reason people believe files should be sealed and hidden from public view or behind closed doors despite transparency needing to be had. It is a two-way street on this issue that needs to be exploited and used to push back on those who shove it down the throats of others while protecting themselves behind it. At times, turning the other cheek and being the better person is not right in this battle.
(Just my thought and opinions)
Without a path forward or a way off the registry, within 30 years, so many people will be on the registry that we would become an acknowledged class. This is especially more likely with so many states making their registries a life sentence as it were.
To be labeled a sex offender for life is truly (In mine and others opinions) punishment as no other labeled offender who has finished their sentences have these life long registries that I know of.
Because sexual charges are so despised, we are the lepers in these scenarios. When we were released from all our sanctions, we expected to go on with our lives, yet these laws, rules, regulations, ordinances and other restrictions basically control our lives in every way on a daily basis, holding us down at every turn.
When I look at my case events on the Clerk if the Court website, I see my court case # has grown to a whopping 27 pages. I honestly have never seen any other criminal case with as many “jam-packed” events as I have with my case. Before I’m done, I’m sure to be in the 40’s . I’m just estimating. It really made me think how this just grinds u down every day of ur “life”.
Hi,
So if I understood correctly.. from now on if I go from Tampa to Miami and stay at a hotel for 7 days I don’t have to reported anymore? Or if I stay at a family house several times a year I don’t have to report that address? Please can you clarify to me? Thanks
Yes you do its more than 3 days. You still after to report to FDLE but now via the Portal but no more going to DMV and Sherriff. That is they I read it.
As far as the Family part say 7 times a year but never more than 3 days that is for the Legal Eagles on here.
Aggrigate. I was yelled at for this. If you stay a day in january and a day in march and a day in may at same location: aggregate reporting. Vcso told me. They also tell me to report any out of state which i didnt think i had to and they keep asking me
If ive installed anything on my phone for chat. Its so random there. I travel north: i leave wednesday morning and return friday night and told i need to report or dont by different people. I say just report and i get looks. Im not on any paper over 23 years.
Whyme
What is worse is, many who have been removed from the registry in their states, and then come for a visit to Florida, are ending up on the Florida registry.
My question is, how are these people even being tracked and “Caught” if they are no longer on a registry? If I ever get off the registry, I won’t leave the state for fear of that happening to me. Heck, I get scared just doing a day trip in the next county over from where I live.
I have been pulled over so many times for driving while registered that it has become normal. And guess what, not once did I get a ticket. They were just fishing for something to arrest me on. How pathetic.
I was never on the public registry in my home state. I got pinned with an ftr THE DAY BEFORE MY FLIGHT BACK HOME!!!!
They dropped the case, filed a no information. And im on this damn list here. AND i timed out of my home state a long time ago. Why am i on this thing???????
Whyme,
Your experiences in Volusia County with different officials telling you different things is precisely why VCSO and all other LE agencies in this state need to review Judge Hinkle’s opinion and orders.
In Florida, there are a number of Sheriffs that are so called constitutional Sheriffs. I don’t believe for a moment that they would respect a judge’s decision favorable to registrants. I’m biased, but my experience with Florida law enforcement after registering has embittered me immensely. I specifically refer to Volusia and Flagler Counties.
The way I understand it is that once the bill passes and FDLE gets the Travel stuff on the Portal We can now report Vehicle changes and Travel via the portal. No more in person for those two things.
That is why I do not visit anyone. During one hurricane many years ago, the sheriff’s office came around knocking on doors telling us all to evacuate. I said I will go down with the ship since I am not allowed in a shelter. Then he said, “Oh you are one of them”.
It seems that Judge Hinkle’s opinion and order nullifies the requirement for LE to conduct in-person checks on permanent residences of PFRs. The judge has ruled that PFR’s don’t have to report any travel within Florida or the USA unless the PFR stays at the same location for more than 3 days. So why does LE have to still come around and verify our permanent addresses that we registered if we are allowed unlimited travel?