Updates on Sex Offender Legislation in Florida
Weekly Update #20
Dear Members and Advocates;
As the late singer Tom Petty said, “the waiting is the hardest part.” We are waiting on Courts’ decisions in two cases we initiated; the “Ex Post Facto Plus” case and the “In-Person” challenge. In both Federal cases, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has filed Motions to Dismiss and in both cases we are awaiting decisions. With a ruling in hand, good or bad, one is able to posture for the next move, without knowing, all you can do is wait.
While we wait, another case we are watching and offering our support in, has been reopened in State Court. Doe v. Swearingen (not to be confused with Does 1-5 v Swearingen) is pending in the 15th Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach County) and also challenges the constitutionality of the Florida registry. The lawsuit states, “[the registry] imposes such extensive requirements and punitive restrictions that it violates the constitutional protection against ex post facto laws…[violates] Plaintiff’s Florida Constitutional Right to Privacy” and “inaccurately identifies all registrants as posing a danger to the public but the law provides no mechanism for challenging the State’s assertion.”
Also, while we wait, registrants in Brevard are mobilizing and considering initiating a challenge to that County’s proximity ordinance that prevents people required to register as sex offenders from being present within 1000 feet of certain places! A similar case challenging exclusion zones was successful in Windsor Locks, CT last week and a challenge in Brevard is long overdue. If you are a resident of Brevard or want to find out how you can help, contact anita@floridaactioncommittee.org and ask to be connected with the Brevard County Coordinator.
And finally… we are also waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court of the United States; Gundy v United States. At issue in Gundy was whether SORNA’s delegation of authority to the attorney general to issue regulations violates the nondelegation doctrine. As Amy Howe from SCOTUSBlog wrote, “There is just one opinion outstanding from the October sitting (which is different from cases argued in October, because cases argued at the tail end of October would be part of the November sitting): Gundy v. United States. We would expect Justice Sotomayor to be writing in Gundy, because she is the only justice who has not yet written for the October sitting.”
As you can see; at FAC we don’t wait patiently. We remain busy advocating and keeping our members up to date on reform efforts in Florida and everywhere. We encourage our members to not sit by waiting for others to do, but to get involved in the fight. One thing you can do is help our advocacy efforts by reaching out to your local news outlets and encouraging them to question the registry. A board member graciously prepared notes of last month’s member call, on which sociologist Emily Horowitz shared seventeen points that can be made when advocating for abolishing the registry. Please feel free to draw on those points when crafting your letters, but each of you reading this weekly update should commit to sending out at least one letter to one news outlet this week from you, a concerned citizen. With unity comes change!
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
Next Monthly Membership call is on Thursday April 4th at 8pm ET. Topic: Family Support
Orange County- News Reporters from Gainesville will be meeting with residents at Lakeshore Village Sunday March 31 to discuss need for housing and especially for aging citizens on the Registry. To participate in the meeting, contact anita@floridaactioncommittee.org
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
Reason: Florida Cops Re-Arrest 26 Sex Offenders in ‘Operation Karma.’ Their Crime? Not Updating Their Car Info.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department in Florida is touting its successful completion of “Operation Karma,” a three-day sting in which cops arrested 26 registered sex offenders for violating various legal obligations imposed on them. “They are apparently up to no good…
Some Judges “get it”, But what can they do about it?
I do a decent amount of case law research to support our advocacy and reform efforts. Generally come across court decisions that regurgitate the same “frightening and high” hyperbole, but once in a while I’ll come across a case where a judge just gets it. Such is the…
SB 540: We now know what the “soliciting prostitution registry” will look like.
There’s been a modification in Senate Bill 540 to the proposed language that would create the soliciting prostitution registry. First, it’s not called a “registry” anymore. It’s now called the “Soliciting for Prostitution Public Database” I guess too much comparison…
Press Release from One Standard of Justice, Inc.
Press Release: Windsor Locks federal suit re: “Child Safety Zones” On March 27, 2018, Stamford attorney Audrey Felsen of Koffsky & Felsen filed suit in federal court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the town of Windsor Locks. The suit, on behalf…