Update on Constitutionality of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry
Weekly Update #71
Dear Members and Advocates,
This week’s update comes to you a bit late because we were hoping to bring news from the State of Michigan, where a hearing took place yesterday that could impact the lives of 44,000 people on Michigan’s registry. After the hearing, Judge Robert Cleland took the matter under advisement and will issue a written opinion. When that written opinion will come is another unknown that has been hanging over the heads of the tens of thousands of individuals who have been waiting for relief since 2015, when the same Court ruled the current Michigan registry unconstitutional. That decision was affirmed by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court refused to take up the case, effectively ending the road for the present version of the Michigan sex offender registry.
After the State of Michigan refused to take any action in response to the ruling against them, the plaintiff registrants brought them back to court last year, where Judge Cleland gave the State some time to pass new, revised, legislation. Unfortunately, Michigan again did nothing which leads us to where we are now; where we’re waiting for the Judge to issue an order that can potentially give the State even more time to pass legislation to fix their problem (which I think we can all expect won’t happen because no politician wants to touch this issue), or he might issue an order enjoining the State Police from enforcing the unconstitutional registry (which is what we all hope will happen). What we don’t want to happen is you reading the same update next year.
Another item we have been waiting for which we will soon (hopefully) know the outcome of is Ron Book’s DUI arrest, which is currently scheduled for Jury Trial twelve days from now in the Broward County Courthouse. While watching the film Untouchable in anticipation of last week’s community event, I was struck by something that rang eerily prophetic. During the film, someone says of Ron Book, “If his daughter had been shot, we’d have very different gun laws. If his daughter had been hit by a drunk driver, we would have very different drunk driving laws”. The documentary was filmed years before the lobbyist was arrested for DUI, so the irony was almost scary.
Each year, more than 10,000 people are killed in drunk driving accidents. In 17% of automobile child fatalities, a drunk driver was involved. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Florida has a 26% recidivism rate for DUI and only a small fraction of instances of drunk driving is caught. It will be very interesting to see how Ron Book will fare when it comes to being held accountable for his own actions. Will he get a free pass because of his political donations and connections, or will the Court value public safety, including the safety of our State’s children more? We shall soon see…
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
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TONIGHT – Feb 6 at 8pm ET – Monthly Membership Call. Dial 319-527-3487
Wed Feb 12 and Feb 26 – Free Registrant Peer Support group (no therapist) meets in Pinellas Park area at 5:30 pm.
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FAC
Thank you for the update.
In my opinion, Michigan’s politicians and the judge would be committing political suicide to end the registry , no matter how just it is for this to be done. They have been lying to the public for so long to save face they can’t touch it. They would first have to come up with a campaign to education the public on the real facts and admit there deception of the past. Only then could they act on the judgement.
I don’t think judge would be committing political suicide at all. Federal judge, appointed for life. The legislature’s role here would be to come up with a new (more constitutional) registration law were the state to be enjoined from enforcing the existing one.
The only time I can think of when a State government, after being told it was operating and enforcing an unconstitutional law, ignored the federal Judicial branch was in 1962 when the National Guard showed up to force Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett to stop blocking the entrance and allow the first black student (James Meredith) to enter the administration building at the University of Mississippi. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out in Michigan as business continues as usual in defiance of a Court order.
As far as Ron Book, he’s probably paid off the judge and jury already so i predict a non-guilty verdict for sure. After all, hasn’t the poor little Senator’s father been through enough? And he’s done so much for the kids….