The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the state of Michigan over its handling of the state’s sex offender registry.
In 2016, the 6th Circuit Court ruled that aspects of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act, SORA, were unconstitutional.
The court’s opinion specifically noted portions of the act which allowed the state to retroactively impose punishments on individuals without due process.
The state of Michigan appealed the circuit court’s ruling, sending Does vs Snyder to the U.S. Supreme Court. In October 2017, the Supreme Court decided not to take up the case, upholding the 6th Circuit Court’s unanimous decision.
It has now been nearly two years since the original ruling and the Legislature has failed to make any reforms to the law.
At the end of June, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Michigan to force the state to finally make changes to its sex offender registry.
Miriam Aukerman, senior staff attorney for ACLU-Michigan, and state Senator Rick Jones, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee joined Stateside’s Lester Graham to discuss what changes they think are necessary and why nothing has changed.
YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE RECORDING HERE: http://michiganradio.org/post/courts-deemed-michigan-s-sex-offender-registry-unconstitutional-two-years-later-nothing-s-0
This is fine commentary on the value some of our illustrious legislators give to the Constitution. Based on the number of phone calls I get, they are probably too busy begging for money.
Just keep suing them till they have no choice but to follow decision.
If this surprises ANYONE I have some restate in south Florida I would like to sell you!
There is simply nothing that will change this as long as they LUMP us all together as “sex offenders”… you simply can not convince people that laws need to be changed when all they see in their minds when they hear the term sex offender is a child molester.
Sorry to say it but the ONLY way to get change to throw the real sex offenders under the bus (where some actually belong) and separate ourselves from them.
This is a fight for survival at this point.
BO-FOYAFAFL, You sound like you may be sipping some of the ‘coolade’ our legislators are gulping. Like any other offense people commit not all are as they may seem. The term ‘child molester’ strikes fear into the hearts of ‘good citizens’ but, the events are not all the same. Nineteen plus years ago I touched my daughter inappropriately. She and I were both going through a traumatic time in our lives after her mother’s unexpected death. I truly regret that I let emotions take control of me for a short period of time. It was totally out of character. I had coached both girls and boys in soccer for years along with involvement in scouts, with never a single problem. I just wanted to see my children and those I coached or lead grow up to be successful adults. As I hear about them they have done just that. My daughter and I reconciled several years ago and she has moved to within just a few miles of my home. We get along just great and are in communication nearly every day. ‘Child molestation’ isn’t always what the media makes it. That is why each case needs to be evaluated individually. There comes the ‘rub’. Too hard and too time consuming, therefore it’s easier to put all sex offenders in ‘one basket’ and throw them out with the trash. We, RSO’s, fight because we know we are better than that…our families and friends know that too. We need to fight together and win or lose together. Remember there is power and strength in numbers.
As I read the Michigan article, I noted that the original registry was created for REPEAT offenders. That might make some sense. However, even in those cases, the prison sentence is already severe enough. Registries are an additional punishment that often goes on for your entire lifetime. Other sex offenders I knew in prison considered their incarceration to be easy compared to what they face under the registry after their release. Judges and legislators who assert that it isn’t punishment should try it out for a year.
I am registered in Michigan, and this is the frustration I have been going through. For example, I was living in Bay County but moved to Osceola County last November. I have since learned that Bay County is no longer applying the 2006 and 2011 changes retroactively, but here in Osceola County nothing has changed. As I’ve been telling my friends who are also on the registry, the Michigan Legislature just doesn’t want to vote on the matter at all, so they do nothing. Other examples are a good time credits bill, and a parole board guidelines bill that would both reduce the amount of time Michigan inmates would spend in prison. Rather than even voting on these bills, they simply referred them to committees, where they will likely die. If you listen to the entire recording above, you will here the State Senator repeating the same old lie about anyone whose victim was a child can never be cured. The ACLU hopes that the courts will fix the situation and make the state comply with the Sixth Circuit ruling, but that means more years of court battles, with the state appealing every ruling along the way again.
@gerald
Couldn’t agree with you anymore…my original 25 year time on the registry is set to expire in the next couple of months..like you my offense predates the state passing and implementing the registry by a year. I’m due relief from the Snyder decision too…I’ve been waiting patiently for the last 9-10 months too. I’m starting to realize that the state has no intention to do anything…if you can..you need to retain a lawyer and file on your own..that article about people getting relief by going to court from a couple weeks ago got me thinking…I’ve started the process myself through my attorney. We’re going to file every which way we can..
Make sure your attorney seeks monetary damages as well. Money seems to be the one thing the state understands. The more it costs them, the sooner they will move to make changes. Hopefully, the Does v Snyder decision will eventually spread to other states as well.