The Devolution of Florida’s Sex Offender Registry since Smith vs. Doe in 2003

(Weekly Update #163)

Dear Members and Advocates,

This week’s update is somewhat of a continuation of last week’s. Last week, I shared an important revelation; that Smith v. Doe DID NOT find that registration is not punishment. It only found that the pre-2003 version of Alaska’s registry was not punitive. Following up on that concept and in anticipation of our Monthly Member call, we wanted to see what Florida’s registry looked like at the time the Supreme Court decided Smith v. Doe (2003) and compare it to what the registry looks like today.

Florida’s registry was enacted in 1997. At it’s inception, someone convicted of a few serious sex offenses would be required to report within 48 Hours after establishing a permanent or temporary residence in the state and provide his or her name, date of birth, race, sex, height, weight, hair and eye color, tattoos or other identifying marks, and address of permanent or legal residence. Thereafter, within 48 hours of a change in address they would need to report to DHSMV (the local driver’s license office) to update their address. That’s where it all started. You register, provide some basic information, and if you move you need to update your driver’s license (which you’d need to do anyhow).

The following year, 1998, the list of requirements got a bit longer. Not only did they add some additional offenses that qualified for the list, but they collected some additional information, such as your social security number, occupation and place of employment, post office boxes, vehicle identification number, license tag number, registration number, a description including color scheme, hull identification number, manufacturer’s serial number, name of vessel, registration number and description including color scheme. They also added a requirement that law enforcement come out and verify the address you gave them and not only would the data be available to law enforcement, but they would make it available to the public via internet notification. You could, however, petition for removal after 20 years.

In 2000, they required out-of-state addresses to be registered and provided that county and local law enforcement should regularly perform address verifications. And in 2002 they added even more qualifying offenses and required that people who are required to register for offenses in other states have to register if moving here (and even if you only had a 10 year requirement in your state of conviction you are on for life here). They also required you to register enrollment at an institution of higher education or changes to employment within 48 hours.

Just to give you some perspective, that’s pretty much where Florida was at the time of Smith v. Doe. Already worse than it was in Alaska, but rest assured; it only got worse. In 2004 addresses for temporary locations (not just where you live) needed to be reported and if you reported that you were vacating an address and subsequently failed to leave, that’s a 2nd degree felony. That year registration violations became strict liability offenses, meaning that you can be prosecuted for unknowing violations. Perhaps the biggest change in 2004 was the addition of residency restrictions at the state level.

In 2005, they required semi-annual registration and 2007 was a whopper… semi-annual wasn’t frequent enough, so for some registrants they required quarterly registration. They also added even more qualifying offenses, required the disclosure of email addresses, instant messenger accounts and other internet identifiers. They also branded our drivers licenses. They tacked on an additional 5 years before someone can petition for removal and further added that some enumerated offenses could never petition!

In 2009 they required registration of home and cell numbers. In 2010 transient registrants (which by now had become plenty because most municipalities have passed residency restrictions) had to register the intersection or bridge they were living at. In 2012 they added even more qualifying offenses. And, in 2013 they required the collection of even more biometric information.

So since Smith v. Doe they added more information required to be reported, more frequent in person reporting, harsher penalties, residency restrictions, branded drivers licenses… but they were not done yet. In 2014 we were hit with the “scorched earth” year of changes to the registry. That year, the legislature added even more qualifying offenses. More “internet identifier” information had to be disclosed. You had to register not only your own vehicles, but anyone who lives in your house or stays there for 5 days or any cars you or they lease or rent (in person). You had to provide your passport information, immigration status, any professional licenses you have, volunteer status, even more biometric information (genetic markers, DNA), transients now have to report every 30 days and if you leave the country you have to report 21 days in advance (in person, of course).

Head spinning yet? Too much to remember? Better not forget something or it’s a third degree felony! Anyhow, we’re not done piling on yet, so let’s keep going. In 2016 even more qualifying offenses were added and international travel reporting was expanded. In 2017 the “corresponding website, homepage or application software” for each internet identifier was added and in 2018 came another doozy! “Residence” was now someplace you stayed 3 or more days, even in the aggregate, per year (it was previously 5 days and originally it was 14 days). In other words, if you go away for a long weekend, you are required to make an in-person trip to the sheriff’s office (or DHSMV, or both) to report your travel. Also in 2018, the penalty for violating one of these technical requirements (even unknowingly) now carries a minimum mandatory sentence and mandatory GPS monitoring. WTF!?!?

Let me put this in perspective… to help me summarize all the changes to the registry for this weekly update (actually, not all, Just the highlights), I prepared a chronology of all the amendments in an excel spreadsheet. My “1997” column has 3 rows and my “2021” column has 52. I’m also only focusing on the Florida Statutes. My notes didn’t include stuff like having a branded passport or being denied access to countries because that’s Federal (International Megan’s Law). My notes also didn’t include stuff like the registration fees in Clay, proximity ordinances that prevent you from attending a County Commission meeting in Brevard, Red signs in front of your home in Bradford or Halloween signs in Duval (just to give you some examples) because those are county ordinances. My notes also didn’t include the collateral consequences, like chronic under/unemployment, not being able to watch your own daughter perform in a school play or your son compete in a soccer tournament, or constantly being the target of scams, harassment and vigilantism. If I had to list all those I’d be too depressed to continue writing this.

As time passed, the number of in-person reporting requirements, burdens and restrictions not only increased, but they became more ridiculous, harsh and severe. Just this past year, for example, it became law that a registrant in Florida presumptively cannot be granted any timesharing with his or her own children in the event of a divorce! How did we go from updating your address to having your children taken away from you? What’s worse is that as draconian as things currently stand, if this is where we’ve come in recent years, think of where we might be a few years down the road!

This Thursday evening we will be holding our monthly member call. The topic for this call will be the evolution of the Florida registry and a legal update to go over some of the things FAC is doing to push back against it. We will give the statuses of Ex Post Facto I & II, the Out of State challenge, removal petitions and cases from around the country that are making a difference. We will talk about why it’s so important for us to do something, but why it’s even more important for us to do it properly. Please join us.

Sincerely,

The Florida Action Committee

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