In an opinion entered earlier this month. A North Carolina District Court Judge found the state’s process for adding people to their sex offender registry who had been convicted out of state, was unconstitutional.
In this case, the plaintiff’s case was out of Washington State. He moved to North Carolina, where he was originally told he did not have to register, but after moving within North Carolina, was told he did. The decision to place someone on the registry is not made by a judge. It’s made by a deputy in the Sheriff’s office.
Plaintiff sued, arguing among other things, his placement on the registry violated his right to due process of law. The Court agreed!
A copy of the court’s decision can be found here: Meredith v. Stein Opinion on Summary Judgment
Thinking in our own situation. FDLE chooses our tier level, chooses which charges are qualified, investigates us, and charges us again again. DOC had this problem in florida and lost immunity during suit was sued pretty good dealing with probation officers having too much encompassing power Id have to find the cases key word was “immunity DOC”. Think it was where they made up additional rules not ordered by the judge.
Gee, if only a group would try this out of state registry issue in Florida. Well, I guess we will never know.
Kinda important that people donate to the out of state fund as you can see it can get the ball rolling which is more than it’s doing right now!
I have been donating to it,as others have too. The problem is there is not enough of us I contacted other advocated only to be told. They will bring it up in their meeting. I do followup email nothing………………..
Ok, he’s off the hook with NC authorities, but isn’t he still in danger of being arrested by a Federal Marshall under the Adam Walsh Act? This is why we aren’t all moving to North Carolina right now, right? I’ve always been confused on this for some reason. These state victories are great, and just because a state isn’t in compliance with SORNA does’t mean the law can’t be used against individual offenders right? And yet if a state won’t or told not to register you…. Is it that “first” registration, the one you do when you first arrive in a state that matters? So as long as you do that you are breaking Adam Walsh? That’s it isn’t it?
yeah duh… i got it. If a state tells a person they don’t have to register or a court tells a state not to register someone he’s good. So like keep a copy of that order handy just in case someone comes a knockin…. This is my situation in New Mexico, actually. I keep the judge’s order in my glove compartment at all times. But of course i remain on the list in Florida. got it.
This is good news. This is what I’ve been looking for, as I am in a similar situation I feel. After being removed from the registry in Kansas and moving to Missouri was required to register with no due process or way to object with some police officer at the police station making the determination and even taking the liberty to add to the Kansas report because what I was accused of in Kansas wasn’t a sex offender offence in Missouri according to the information they received. I am willing to take this to court in Missouri with this information which I printed out. I want to do it right. Any suggestions.
In your opinion do I have a case.
If this is true my family and I are gone by the summer.
I must have missed it, but would hope someone here could help: How did he get from not having to register to being told he had to register after he moved, e.g. did someone look him up online and report him, did he get pulled over by a smokey, etc? I suppose it is in the original case filing, but I am not seeing the connection and it appears to me that is quite a leap for one county smokey to say no and another say yes without saying how it was brought to the second county’s attention and determination.
My understanding was that a sheriffs office representative determined that he wasn’t required to register, then some time later another agent of the same sheriffs office determined that he was required to register, reversing their previous determination. The second determination was made by finding the plaintiff on a federal register of federally mandated registrants and determining that he lived in the community and should be required to register.
I don’t see anything here to get excited about. The Court outlines what the state has to do in order to make adding registrants from other states to North Carolina’s registry: offer them prior notice and an opportunity to be heard. Their state legislature can craft a simple act to accomplish that. The ruling did NOT exclude Mr. Meredith from being placed on the registry once the state fixes their procedure. Since they had already removed him from the registry, it might have been better for him if he had never pursued the case in federal court.
@ Gerald,
I could be wrong, but the injunction states that current LE can’t try to force him to register under current law. Granted, NC could in theory rewrite the applicable law and try to make it retroactive, but that comes back to the ex post facto thing that’s already lost in a lot of other cases.
That is the key problem with the ruling, Dustin. The Court actually told the state that there is nothing to prevent them from rewriting the law to provide a proper procedure for adding people, including Mr. Meredith, to the state’s registry. Violation of ex post facto bans is a way to challenge such actions, but more often than not, appellate courts have ruled that ex post facto doesn’t apply to sex offender registries. Unless the Supreme Court ever issues a new ruling that retroactive actions by the state are unconstitutional in regards to sex offender registries, most appellate courts are going to rule against the registrants. It’s not just a theory that North Carolina could rewrite the law. This decision tells them to do it if they want to keep adding such people to their registry.
Man, I miss the old days (prior to my conviction) where I can travel and move where I like and its nobody’s business. * sigh* I’m so glad cases are stacking up in our favor and hopefully we can go back to living a normal life sooner than later.
Woah.. so if you move to this state is there a way to not be placed on the registery if your conviction was out of state. Is this individual removed from the national registry as well?
Is there a time limit being on the national registry.?
and if there is what is it. I don’t know. what I am getting at is
if you are removed from it. than could that apply to moving
to another state and not registering in that new state.
I’m just picking at straws.
Very Nice!!! Let hope it stands I got two more years for my 10 year mark and being out of state too.
My conviction was in Virginia yet I am on the Florida registry….???
read the case. It’s saying there is no process for deciding a charge that doesnt match up and the sheriff didn’t have jurisdiction to make the determination. Other states have said the same thing.
Mine conviction is in Florida and I am on Arizona Registry as well. What the hell? I hoping and praying I get a decent judge. I can’t say Ex post facto in Arizona because there was one in 1951 a state registry. That why I hoping F.A.C, Val and them beat this $hit in court. If I can show the court here in AZ that Fla removed me I sure AZ will remove me as well I even pay to out of state challenge fund. All of you seeing with your own eyes about the out of state challenge in N.C. We need to make some type of donation to it. If you can. Please help fund that as well We see how good FAC doing with this case!!!!
IWell I was convicted in another state and at the time my charge was not even on the registration requirements. Now they amended the law so many times it’s pittiful now they are doing exposto facto well I have been removed from my state I was convicted in but moved to South Carolina now sled from South Carolina told the sheriff from my original state that I would fall under the state that convicted me well that was a lie so I moved from there and came to Florida well I wanted to move back to original state , “ now get this “ I’ve been removed from the registry , but they told me if I came back I would fall under Florida guidelines as a lifetime requirement???? Now how is that all legal let alone constitutional?
Ok, here is the misunderstanding I keep reading about…. When you say you were removed from the registry by your state you are correct, you were removed from having to register… in your state. The national registry is a one-way ticket at this time. Just like Hotel California, “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave”. If you were really “off” the registry then Florida, North Carolina or any state would have no way of knowing who you are.
To answer your question…Yes, this nonsense is unconstitutional, and only a small part of what we need to keep fighting against.
Aman-
First of all did you read that my conviction was not a registered offense – so the state I was convicted in removed me but all attorneys tell me that they can’t help me due to the offense occurred in another state well the attorneys in that state say there is nothing they can do due to me being off the registry in that state. If I know the law at all the are saying basically this is a federal problem. But their is NO UNITED STATES WHEN THE ISSUE IS WITH SEX OFFENSE SO WHAT YOU AND I AND EVERYBODY ELSE NEEDS TO DO IS STAND UP AND TAKE THIS TO A FEDERAL COURT AND FIGHT IT ALL THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE IF SO NEEDED. I DONT KNOW ABOUT YOU ALL BUT THIS CRAP HAS COST ME WAY TO MANY JOBS. AND BY THE WAY A MURDER CAN GO AND GET ON A MILITARY BASE. ALSO A ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CAN DO SO ALSO , but a registered sex offender that hasn’t been in trouble for 20 yrs. can not !
Why is all I ask!
Isn’t this exactly what AWA does? It’s a “ratchet effect” where each step you take in life such as moving from one jurisdiction increases requirements. These laws applied to citizens are not gone through the Judicial system but rather by politicians who sign them into law, or citizens who vote those laws in, bypassing due process. Additionally, citizens can’t be retried for something they already have been punished for.
Someple please correct me if i’m wrong, but if this is an obvious win to take down AWA, why have we not see any lawsuits regarding it? Maybe it’s not an obvious black and white winnable case?
Wow! This judge did not pull any punches against the radical State actors and their stupidity.
And they just keep coming in. I love it.
That’s great! Now let’s hope it stands up on appeal and sets a good precedent.
Great, i don’t see why this could not be the same/used in all states.
how can the law state that if you did something in 1 state than move to another state than you must do this, that, etc… without a judge in that state placing sanctions on you.
Wait, is this as huge as i think it is? I was a federal plea in nyc. If this has actually happened doesnt this mean that there is some relief for us out of state / juristiction rsos that got nailed with floridas requirement? Is this something that someone will jump on?
I was placed on the registry by a corrections officer. The arrest for failure to register was not pursued and case closed the charges dropped before even scheduled. I never saw a judge or d.a.
This is not so huge as to mean someone will not have to register. It merely means that the NC process of determining whether someone has to (or does not have to) register was unconstitutional.
As someone pointed out. The state can change their process (and likely will).
That said; any win is A WIN!
Dear Concerned,
You make a great point, but I’d like to add to it. What about those of us prosecuted in federal courts and ordered by a federal judge at sentencing to register in whatever state jurisdiction we live? Highly unconstitutional because a federal judge is without jurisdiction to make such an order just as a state judge is without jurisdiction to order a state defendant to register federally. But this is being done all over the country. Thanks for your post and to FAC for letting us in on that federal judge’s opinion and order. I wish that was my judge.