MO: Families of Registrants Get Rebuffed by 8th Circuit
Spouses and children of registrants in Missouri argued their homes’ inclusion on the registry left them socially ostracized in violation of the 8th Amendment.
The plaintiffs argued that public access to the registry does not lower recidivism rates, that the psychological and social impacts the public registry inflicts upon innocent family members (spouses and children) was cruel, and that when the Supreme Court originally evaluated registries decades ago, search engine technology and internet accessibility did not exist as it does today.
In a disappointing decision, today an Eighth Circuit panel found Missouri’s public sex offender registry does not create “a permanent, inescapable badge of stigma”. In affirming a lower court’s ruling, the three-judge panel refused to revive claims that the registry — also known as SORA — is broadly punitive and violates their constitutional rights. “In their brief to this court, the Does do not cite a case supporting their theory that family members who are incidentally affected by Mo. SORA have a plausible constitutional claim,” Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Ralph R. Erickson, a Donald Trump appointee, wrote in the unanimous opinion.
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They have the audacity to say our kids aren’t punished as well lol. You know how many school events I’ve missed? I attended my daughter’s field day ONCE and she’s in the 4th grade and now I have a son in kindergarten. I shaved, wore a beanie and sunglasses to disguise myself just so I could be there as every dad should. It’s disgusting and quite frankly p****s me off to no end.
No end
So sorry my friend that you have to go through that. This week will be my 22nd year off all sanctions. Three more years to go since they changed it back to 25 years. My luck, when I get to 25 years, they will change it to 30. At that point I would just give up and not care anymore. I try to be positive, but the “It is not punishment” bullshit doesn’t stack up anymore as even Satan knows it is punishment, and he loves that.
My health is failing and if I die, I hope they try and come dig me up for failure to register LOL
And here we go again “IT IS NOT PUNISHMENT” according to the court. Kick us down while our families suffer. The exact reason I live alone, no one but me has to suffer in my own home.
The judgement stated : “The theory of substantive due process is properly reserved for truly egregious
and extraordinary cases.” Mills, 614 F.3d at 498 (cleaned up). This means: “A
plaintiff must establish the government action complained of is truly irrational, that
is something more than arbitrary, capricious, or in violation of state law. Truly
irrational conduct is conscience shocking, in a constitutional sense.”
conscience shocking, in a constitutional sense???
How about publishing a list that has the bona fide effect of creating a caste of hated and untouchable persons who are beyond all mercy or hope or love or compassion?
How about singling out a particular group and taking away most of their choices of residence?
How about making that hate list so public that people on it are fearful of their very lives and cannot find work despite years of trying?
The registry (and its consequences) shocks the conscience of any decent, thinking person! It shocks the very core values of our constitutional democracy! The values that this country once held so dear have been shocked! Values like redemption and second chances! Mercy and hope! The right to privacy! The right of freedom of travel! The right of human dignity! The right to pull oneself up by his bootstraps and start over! The values of truth and clear thinking reality versus blind hatred born of hysteria!
The registry IS SHOCKING AND IRRATIONAL IN EVERY SENSE!
I agree with your points.
Are we supposed to take photos of the bullet holes in our wall, slashed tires and the glares people give us?
The evidence is apparent and readily available, yet they want us to provide documention of it. You can’t get more flippant and indifferent than that! Unbelieable.
Facts
That happened to me. I had a roommate at the time, and he woke me up and said someone shot through the window next to his bed. The next morning, I made a police report and got a confirmation but no visit or follow up from law enforcement. That was the last straw for the roommate and I never got another roommate because (A) it is hard to get someone to live with you if on the registry and (B) after that incident, I did not want anyone else to get hurt or bothered by my situation on the registry.
What happens when one of the jerkoffs shoots into a house and kills a small child? Even if the shot was a warning to the registrant, what sick bastard shoots at a house that may have kids? Well, the answer, they just don’t care and most likely was not one of our victims, but an A-hole vigilante.
My wife moved to Florida and bought property before I moved here. After I registered in Florida my wife had several negative interactions at her current employer (which was a university) . She has since quit. She has a master’s degree in data technology, yet nobody wants to even give her interview. Are they looking up the address before the interview? So yes the registry goes beyond the PFR.
It’s said that many children who are victims of sexual abuse carry trauma with them for a long time afterward. I wonder if it’s also true that children living in a PFR’s residence, who are bullied and ostracized by their classmates, carry trauma as well. Of course it’s very true. They are just a different kind of victim, unrecognized by many of the people who consider themselves to be child advocates.