GA: New Legislation Would Allow Lifelong GPS Monitoring of Sex Offenders

When the Georgia Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law allowing convicted sex offenders to be ordered to wear GPS ankle monitors for the rest of their lives after release from prison, several justices offered a concurring opinion saying the Legislature could write a law requiring such monitoring that would pass constitutional muster.

New legislation dropped on the first day of the General Assembly aims to do just that.

Anyone convicted of a sexual offense under current Georgia law must already serve a split sentence including prison time and at least one year of probation.

House Bill 720 stipulates that a judge may order probation for life and that it may include electronic monitoring.

The bill notes that it is intended to “provide a response to Park v. State,” the March 2019 opinion deeming statutory lifetime monitoring after an offender has served his court-ordered sentence constituted a “lifelong search” in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

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23 thoughts on “GA: New Legislation Would Allow Lifelong GPS Monitoring of Sex Offenders

  • January 21, 2020

    Yes, ladies and gents, attorneys look at this and start to salivate on the case which is forming in the hands of the legislators currently…..

    And so starts the possible march (if passed and signed into law) to SCOTUS and a ruling on the entire topic, i.e. agree to hear it or not and if they do, will it be allowed or not?, if challenged.

    IMO, if you cannot attach a GPS to a car, US v Jones (2012), SCOTUS, without a warrant since it is considered a search, the human is in the same vein for movement tracking via a search without a warrant. Same is said for cellphone signals, Carpenter v US (2018), SCOTUS, and tracking of movement. There was a time when humans would walk everywhere, so my analogy is all movement regardless of method, e.g. car, horse, bicycle, scooter, boat, skateboard, rollerskates, etc, cannot be electronically tracked by any method without a warrant.

    Again, this comes down to using the data for what purpose and why does a human differ than a machine, i.e. a GPS tracker on a car or a cellphone with GPS on?

    Reply
  • January 20, 2020

    One step forward, 300 steps back. Just when we think we are gaining ground, another court loses their minds. Are they all on drugs? Do they draw straws and throw darts at bills and whichever law the dart lands on, that is what they pass?
    Maybe it will take a supreme court justice’s grand kids to get put on the registry for something to change. However they would probably just pull some strings and get them out of the trouble.

    Reply
  • January 20, 2020

    This draconian bill, put forth by a publican, would also shift the burden of proof to the “sex offender.” The “sex offender” must prove to
    “the board” that he/she will not commit another sexually related crime. Yet another case where just one class of felon has to prove their innocence, thus alleviating the state of proving them guilty. If no “evidence” is put forth on your behalf, you are designated a threat. Thomas D. Rice, aka Jim Crow, must be smiling in his grave right now.

    Scratch Georgia off my places to move to.

    Reply
    • January 20, 2020

      similar to what I had to do having the burden of proof
      in a Visa case < i have to prove to USCIS (immigration) that i Pose no risk beyond a reasonable doubt

      there is no psychologist going to say this person poses no risk beyond a reasonable doubt to anyone everyone poses a risk a paraplegic can spit on another person, that is a risk
      though I got a 2.5% to ever pose a risk to anyone and a 1 on stat 99
      this visa will still be denied this is another form of punishment to a RP or a person off the reg.or a person who was never in the eyes of the law but had an old sex crime
      now my case was adj withhold ,USCIS still considers it a conviction they actually wanted me to have my friend write letters of good conduct stating
      we know he was convicted of a sex crime ( a lie its self)
      yet all threw out this letters that had to keep saying he was convicted was convicted our government dont give a FK whom they hurt or how they do it,
      many if my friends refused to write such letters claiming i was a convicted sex offender, they wrote letters alright yes they were very good letters but alot was telling the government how shameful to treat a person after he has finished his time they were good letters yet I didn’t submit them to the attorney A. L.
      I know hes a great attorney but its time he put his staff in check as well, sent several emails and none have been answered a ball was dropped and now i cant contact him his internal people monitor his emails
      Yes no matter what Rps will never have justice on or off the reg.

      Reply
    • January 20, 2020

      Georgia is a kind of a good news/bad news jurisdiction. You can get off of the registry there and, last time that I checked, you don’t have to report all of your internet identifiers to the police. Also, most of the restrictions placed on offenders relying to where they can live, work, etc are considered punishment in Georgia and as such, cannot be applied ex post facto. The bad news is that if you are convicted AFTER the period between like 2006 and 2009, the laws are among the most draconian in the country. I am trying to move there because if the the one state where I can apply to be removed from the registry that treats out of staters ht3 same as in staters AND I could afford to move there. Indiana MIGht end up being another one after the most recent court decisions. Most of the other states where you might have a chance like Vermont, Colorado, Washington and Oregon just cost too much.

      Reply
      • January 22, 2020

        @JoeM,

        I tried to make sense of all their statutes regarding registration, but came up unsure if you move there, how would a Floriduh conviction be equated, and when the tolling period to petition removal from the registry starts, date of conviction or date of arrival in Georgia. No matter how you slice it, anyone moving there from Floriduh will be on their registry for life (and beyond).

        Reply
      • January 30, 2020

        You can scratch Washington off the list too, unless you are very young. Out-of-staters are required to remain registered for life, unless you can live crime free in Washington for 15 consecutive years, then you can petition to get off.

        “(c) If the person is required to register for a federal, tribal, or out-of-state conviction, when the person has spent fifteen consecutive years in the community without being convicted of a disqualifying offense during that time period.”

        https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.44.142

        Reply
        • January 31, 2020

          is it in “the community” or in Washington? Generally, “in the community” means out of custody.
          You might want to confirm this.

          Reply
          • January 31, 2020

            Good point! Also, the 15 year tolling period starts upon release from incarceration, not probation/parole.

  • January 20, 2020

    Ahhh yes, legislators circumnavigating already existing laws. I smell the usual rats being in on this idea, I mean what better way to spend tax payers dollars than to line your own pockets, all while acting like you are tough on crime and in actuality really out to lock away sex offenders for life. 3 birds with one stone.

    Reply

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