7th Circuit case shows the lengths a law enforcement officer will go to mess with a registrant

A case out of the 7th Circuit Court of appeals shows just how far a member of law enforcement will go to mess with someone on the registry and just how impossible it is sometimes to comply with all the rules and restrictions that accompany registration as a sex offender.

The case, Frederickson v. Landeros, is an equal protection case. Frederickson, was a homeless registrant living in Joliet, Illinois. As a homeless registrant, he was required to report WEEKLY, IN PERSON. One of the registration officers developed a dislike of Frederickson because he questioned the constitutionality of the registry. He went out of his way to make the registration process difficult for Frederickson and when Frederickson decided to move to a neighboring county, Landeros went out of his way to make it impossible. He went as far as refusing to transfer his file so that he could not register!

Frederickson sued Landeros, arguing he was not being treated equally. He won. But the reason we are sharing it is: for those who have dealt with law enforcement officers or registration personnel who feel their jobs are to punish you, let this case remind you that right often prevails!

You can read the 7th Circuit’s decision here; http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2019/D11-26/C:18-1605:J:Easterbrook:dis:T:fnOp:N:2436411:S:0  or listen to oral arguments here: https://www.courtlistener.com/audio/59532/rex-frederickson-v-tizoc-landeros/

 


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43 thoughts on “7th Circuit case shows the lengths a law enforcement officer will go to mess with a registrant

  • November 29, 2019

    In Orange County (Florida) upon re-reg there is a map and if you are homeless you just tell the cop your sector you are in and that’s it. Cops have given up trying to find out exactly where you sleep at night if homeless. You may also give your employer address if homeless.
    Orange county has decided as long as a homeless RSO appears in their month of re-reg they are compliant!
    JEV – True Confessions

    Reply
  • November 29, 2019

    Really, this is a case where someone going to register was giving the authorities he was registering with, a hard time. The sheriff here was only doing his job, which was to register the offender. However, the offender was giving the sheriff a hard time about registering, which would get old after a while, especially since the sheriff doesn’t make the registry laws-the state or government does. The sheriff’s duty is to register you, not make laws or hear about how wrong the registry is. If we as offenders want to make a difference or complain about how wrong the registry is, the sheriff’s office is the wrong place to do it. They have a job to do right or wrong and can’t really do anything about changing laws-that’s what the courts are for. Now this could only make it worse for others even though the conclusion is right. You can be right, but expressing it in the wrong place could end up with far reaching ugly results, in which case, it would have been better to exercise your right in the court system than the sheriff’s office.

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    • November 30, 2019

      If your dissatisfied with a service or business you usually voice your displeasure with the employee that you are in contact with whether it’s a cashier manager Sheriffs deputy or civilian employee you may make them aware of a situation they weren’t aware of before. As far as them not being policymakers that is true but they do have the ears of those in policymaking positions I strongly recommend you voice your displeasure as respectfully and as cordially as possible but never ever think why bother their just doing their jobs especially when it comes to your rights and your dignity otherwise just lay down and take whatever they dish out.

      Reply
      • November 30, 2019

        I agree completely. I’ll talk to LE if they are decent people. But I will make fun of the Registries every single time that I see them. I intend for the Registries to cause as much trouble as possible. I want people to remain very displeased and upset because of the Registries. People need to suffer.

        It helps to lower the morale of people who are involved with the Registries. All of the smart, decent people have abandoned the Registries. Only the dipsh*ts are left. All over Amerika.

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      • November 30, 2019

        When they tried to adopt they Adam Walsh Act here, every Sheriff in this state withstood it. So technically, they were on our side. This guy apparently was nagging about the registry every time he went, which as I said, would get old. Most sheriffs are on our side more than you think and would much rather be doing something else than registering offenders or going out to locate them. There is no justifying nagging a sheriff every time you register about something he/she cannot change. It’s like nagging your local manager all the time about the same thing they cannot change when it is the president of the company who lays down the rules. If you want change, you’ve got to bark up the right tree. You’ll never get change barking at a single sheriff. You’ll only make him angry at you. People need to use sense about who to speak or complain to and the sheriff isn’t one of them.
        Try suing a sheriff for the laws the state or government makes and see how that works out for you. His right complaint was rightly stated but in the wrong place and he ended causing prejudice and problems for himself he could have completely avoided if he stated them where a difference could actually be made. He brought this on himself

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        • December 1, 2019

          We shouldn’t have to drink the Kool Aid this gentleman probably lacked the resources to write or email his state senator or representative and voiced his displeasure with the only person he comes face to face with thinking that the Sheriffs rep can’t do anything about it is false your voice may cause them to research and relay why registrants are so upset and what a waste of resources the registry is. I had a Sheriffs rep that I was comfortable with he would say how are you today I would reply this is 2 hours out of my life I won’t get back he would nod I got the feeling he understood because he never seemed annoyed but at last check in there was a different person I asked what happened to the last guy and was told he transferred to another department I like to think he figured out he was wasting his time there and my polite sarcasm helped him see that. It’s your right to complain about a unjust unconstitutional act law or procedure do so to who’s ever ear you have poop does swim upstream as well

          Reply
          • December 2, 2019

            “”We shouldn’t have to drink the Kool Aid this gentleman probably lacked the resources to write or email his state senator or representative and voiced his displeasure with the only person he comes face to face with thinking that the Sheriffs rep can’t do anything about it is false your voice may cause them to research and relay why registrants are so upset and what a waste of resources the registry is””

            This an argument from silence. You don’t know if he lacked the resources or not.
            Also, legislatively, sheriffs cannot do anything about your or mine or anyone else’s beef about the registry. To nag them every time is pointless and will only bring prejudice on your self-they don’t make the policies, they only enforce them. Yes, you do have a right to state your opinion, pretty much any place, but that can also bring unwanted consequences upon yourself and others because you rightfully stated your opinion in the wrong place and to the wrong people too many times and that’s just common sense living, regardless of your freedom of speech. It does have limits, both socially and legally.

            Reply
            • December 2, 2019

              Silence equals acceptance

              Reply
              • December 2, 2019

                Yep.

                If we have 100 people going into a sheriff’s office to Register, what should that look like? All 100 of them filing in and out of there, being all nice, polite, and compliant, and supporting the whole show and theater? Saying things like, “I understand why people might be afraid and need Registries, but I’m not a threat. Everyone else on the Registries might be, but I’m not.”

                Or all 100 raising holy hell? What is the correct signal?

                I don’t think a person should EVER miss making a negative statement about the Registries. It should always be done. Then after Registering, go outside and demonstrate in front of the building. Registries should always be a problem for as many people as possible.

                These illegal Registries aren’t going anywhere. It is past time to stop worrying about being nice or polite about them. They are war.

                Reply
                • December 3, 2019

                  You’re missing the boat here. Most Sheriffs know the registry is useless and pointless and would rather be doing something else and some even oppose it like us. Your nagging them is only going to make it harder on you and others and you will turn away any compassion they have for you because a lot of them know already what you are going through.
                  I am glad I don’t have to register where that other guy does.
                  He brought a whole lot of trouble on himself for nothing.
                  Would it have been worth it for you to have the same thing happen to you???
                  I doubt it.
                  If so, try doing what he did every time you go in and then in the end see if it was all worth it.
                  Doesn’t look like it was for him.
                  He got raked through the coals over something that was his fault to begin with.
                  When you make a stand, do it in the right place among the right people.
                  His stand wasn’t in the right place and he suffered the consequences from it. It was his own fault for what happened to him.

                  Reply
                • December 4, 2019

                  @David on December 3, 2019 at 1:13 am:

                  Yeah, I had read few details about this guy’s specific case until just now and even now I’ve only scanned the court’s decision pages 3-7. Now that I have read that, I think even more than you are really, really missing the boat here.

                  If I had to Register every week with the criminal regimes, they would have a very serious problem on their hands. If they started giving me crap about anything related to that, I don’t think they would survive it. What happened to this guy would not happen to me without some really terrible retaliation. I’m sure FAC won’t even let me say. If they ever arrested me, I would not be the person with a problem. They would be.

                  Why would you ever dream that anyone should ever put up with what this guy had to put up with?

                  You said, “If so, try doing what he did every time you go in and then in the end see if it was all worth it.” Ummm, I’ve been doing what he did and more for over 20 years. It has certainly been worth it.

                  I thought the way that you were talking that the guy was going in there and just yelling at everyone or doing something stupid and rude like that. But I don’t see him doing anything except trying to live. And make LE follow the law. Maybe I need to read more and more closely?? Did I miss something?

                  And just for clarity, I’m not talking about just being a random a-hole to LE. But I promise you that I don’t give a flip about any “compassion” that they might lie they have for me or not. I certainly don’t care about their opinions.

                  I talk to some of the LE officers if they want. I’ll talk to them about normal things if they like. But if they talk about Registration, I’ll tell them what I want and I don’t care what they want to hear. There is a very nice LE officer who will say something, “How are you doing?” and I’ll just respond, “I’m doing fine except for this idiocy. How are you today?”

                  But yeah, I’m not going to let some criminal like Tizoc Landeros push me around. If he tried half of that nonsense on me, he would have a real problem. A lot worse than what happened to him.

                  I do get that it is easier to just keep your head down and try to go along with it all. But it is much more important to me to do what is right and moral.

                  Reply
              • December 3, 2019

                Ehh no……….Wisdom is knowing when to keep your mouth shut which silence would be the result. Keep opening your mouth in the courtroom when it is not your turn to speak and see how that works out for you.

                Reply
        • November 7, 2020

          during dep this detective admitted to filing over 100 faulse reports over a 2 year time span.. does that clarify this matter…

          Reply
  • November 29, 2019

    if right often prevailed there wouldn’t be a registry..how many times was he abused and lost before be got one small win?.sad truth is that for the one small win this poor man has had the blue line will soon destroy him simply because it caters to it’s own demons..he didnt win anything he just postponed a worse fate.

    Reply
    • November 30, 2019

      Ummm… he got two BIG Wins. The district court and the circuit court.

      Reply
      • December 1, 2019

        SO WHAT DID HE WIN?

        Reply
  • November 29, 2019

    My first PO used to stop by every morning at 5 am to perform a search. When I tried to move, he said he’d violate me if I tried, so I went to his supervisor. Supervisor became my PO.

    Reply
  • November 29, 2019

    This is one of the many reasons I left Illinois. As a registrant, the police lied, falsified my records, and even so far as to contact my potential landlord and “warn him” about me. They are nasty. They are corrupt. They will go out of their way to make your life sd miserable as possible.

    Reply
  • November 29, 2019

    I must admit I find it a bit disturbing that this court found the plaintiff’s “right to register” was violated. I certainly don’t find registration a “right” and if it is, I would gladly give it up.

    Reply
    • November 30, 2019

      Amen Dustin. Amen to that!

      Reply
      • December 2, 2019

        Right On Dustin! I protested this since the day of my release.

        Reply
    • November 7, 2020

      it is all about the words we use… try this… i do not require a license for liberty… now rewrite the sentence you wrote and see the real truth.. thank you for your kind words please support the effort…

      Reply
      • November 9, 2020

        @ fredericson:

        I do not require sex offender registration for liberty.

        Real truth seen. Thanks.

        Reply

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