Michigan: Ready to go another round?
By now we should all be familiar with what’s taking place in Michigan. After having its registry declared unconstitutional all the way to the 6th Circuit (and then the Supreme Court, which denied Certiorari), the state’s legislators have been trying to craft legislation that would pass constitutional muster. They have been trying unsuccessfully.
Their latest attempt will be House Bill 5679. a copy of the most recent legislative analysis can be found here: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/billanalysis/House/pdf/2019-HLA-5679-322C0DAA.pdf
The most glaring concern is that it would allow the State to publish email addresses and internet identifiers on the public registry.
If Michigan didn’t have such a strong track record of failing to pass sex offender legislation or getting their laws struck as unconstitutional, I would be investing more concern into this bill. If it does pass, I’m sure Miriam Aukerman and the ACLU of Michigan will be right there to strike it down again!
Discover more from Florida Action Committee (FAC)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Why are the courts letting this linger? What about the scales of justice that are vividly on display in this courtroom? Are they there as a joke or something?
OTB:
It depends on the facts of your case and the year the offense took place. The law firm handling Does II is the Oliver Law Group in Troy Michigan. They can tell you if you have to register or not.
The current state is almost all offenders whose offense date precedes 1995 are off of the registry today. Most persons whose offense date is from 1995 to 2012 must be removed but there isn’t a final order yet.
However, if your offense date predates July 1, 2011, you can petition for removal regardless of which state you were convicted in. For most persons whose offense date predates July 1, 2011, removal is mandatory. You can obtain a copy of the petition for removal from the sex offender registry by googling “Michigan 406 petition sex offender”.
The original federal District Court ruling found some things unconstitutional that are still in this proposed bill. It also would require me to register my neighbor’s license plate number because I drove him home in his car after cataract surgery. Also shortens the time period for reporting changes. It’s ridiculous. Michigan’s Attorney General is in favor of eliminating the registry because all it does is punish exoffenders. The Federal Circuit Court also ruled that it is punishment, and serves no public purpose other that to treat registrants as lepers. And most of all, no bill is final until actually passed. There will be more changes made by legislators before it is put up for a vote. Michigan has the same basic system as Washington, meaning that even if it passes the House, it will be subject to amendments by the Senate. The final version will be even worse.
If you live in Michigan please be sure to reach out to your Senator for a no vote.
It just amazes me how they still don’t get it and the lawsuit will continue. And how come they, the government can keep running past their deadline but, we the people, if we are one minute late for a filing….to bad, you loose.
Not seeing much difference in the analysis of the proposal and what was struck down by Cleland’s order. They’re still desperately trying to maintain the pre-order status quo, IMHO. I would think the financial impact would play a pretty large role in whether or not it passes, considering the sad state of Michigan’s finances.
I hope someone can make their way to the Michigan legislature when it makes ot to the floor to point out that there has been no change in sex crime rates among registrants in particular during the injunction period. I’d do it myself if I could afford it. Plus, I’m sure my PO would never approve a trip there at all, especially for anti-registry advocacy.
Does this mean if I were to move there to live with family, under the current court orders, would I not have to register? (At least as things stand now)?