In another big win yesterday, an Indiana appellate Court determined that a law banning sex offenders from schools is Unconstitutional as applied to parents of children attending that school whose cases pre-date the law.

The Judge’s order found that restricting the registrant from his own child’s school was a “disability or restraint [that] is neither minor nor indirect”. It was punishment. He found “schools—especially school sporting events—have been open to members of the public. It seems reasonable to assume, therefore, that the act of restricting an individual from entering school property has historically been considered a form of punishment.”

The plaintiff in the case challenged the Indiana law on three grounds; first that it constituted Ex Post Facto Punishment, second for vagueness and third, that the statute violated his due process interest in the care, custody, and control of his son. Since the court ruled in his favor on the Ex Post Facto punishment ground, they didn’t address the other two.

It’s GREAT to receive a consistent flow of decisions across the country finding these laws do impose punishment and striking them down on ex post facto grounds!

If you care to read the decision, it can be found here: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Kirby-v.-Indiana.pdf

 

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