We received an email from an attorney requesting we remove a certain post from our website. The post concerned Broward Sex Crimes Prosecutor Stacey Honowitz’s arrest for shoplifting at a Publix Supermarket in 2018. The removal request appears below:
Good Day,
I hope this message finds you well in these trying times. I am writing on behalf of Stacey Honowitz to kindly request the removal of the article published to the above-copied link. The incident, a misunderstanding, is a most embarrassing blemish on Ms. Honowitz’s otherwise pristine record and career. The charge was readily nolle prossed (please see attached). As you can certainly appreciate, the continued publication has caused and continues to cause Ms. Honowitz great distress and damage to her reputation.
Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions. We thank you in advance for your time dedicated to this sensitive matter.
Cordially Yours,
Vanessa McGill
Stacey Honowitz is a sex crimes prosecutor and an advocate for harsher sex offender restrictions. To quote Ms. Honowitz, “Tougher laws [are] needed to protect our kids from sex offenders.”
While we agree with Ms. Honowitz that sexual abuse needs to be prevented, we strongly disagree that tougher laws are needed to protect anyone from persons forced to register as “sex offenders”. The overwhelming majority (95%+) of people on the registry will not re-offend and are trying to live productive lives, yet the continued publication of their information on a public registry prevents them from obtaining employment, housing and other basic needs for themselves and their families.
For most registrants, their crime was a one-time offense and a complete aberration in an otherwise law abiding life. Surely most were guilty, but many were not. Some were wrongfully accused, baited and switched in a sting, or a misunderstanding for which they took a plea decades ago out of convenience and to avoid the risk of jail time without knowing what was to come as far as the registry. Arguably their incidents are also a “most embarrassing blemish” in an “otherwise pristine record” and “the continued publication” of their information on a sex offender registry “has caused and continues to cause” them “great distress and damage”.
So what to do about this request to remove the article? Since the letter came from an attorney who lists one of her areas of practice as defamation cases, the implication is that if we chose not to take down the article we might face a lawsuit. However, the Miami Herald’s story, Veteran Sex-Crimes Prosecutor Accused of Shoplifting is still up. So is the Sun-Sentinel’s coverage. The surveillance footage of her sticking the cosmetic items in her purse and leaving the store has not been taken down. So why should we remove our post?
We did update the story to state that the charges were nolle prossed, but do we need to take down the entire article? Even if the shoplifting incident was unintentional and she simply forgot to pay for the items or mindlessly put them in her purse without realizing, she prosecutes people who unknowingly or unintentionally violate a technical registration rule all the time and even if decades have passed without incident, her office still vigorously opposes petitions for removal from the registry.
It’s very possible that the arrest has given Ms. Honowitz a different perspective and greater empathy for people who “as [she] can certainly appreciate” are suffering great distress and damage from their continued publication on the registry. Or, it’s possible she could care less. We’d like to see where she stands in light of the fact that she’s “kindly requesting” we take down a post.
Frankly we’re impressed that our little forum would even concern her enough to retain an attorney to contact us. But, before we act on the request, we’d really like to hear the thoughts of our membership, so please feel free to share them in the comments below. We’d also love to hear from Ms.Honowitz herself, given the ironic nature of her request. If she would like to be a guest on a future member call, consider this a public invitation.
Jacob:
I don’t know the petition process in Florida but am familiar with Michigan’s 406 petition and the theory behind the petition process. There are various names for the petition so I use the term petition generically.
These petitions as a general rule function in the same vein as a pardon. It begins the process. Generally, you are granted a hearing where you can introduce evidence and witnesses and sometimes have the right to appeal. First, you have to qualify in order to petition. The hearing may be held in front of a hearing officer, a hearing board or someone or something else. In Michigan, it is the trial judge that hears the petitions.
As a general rule, these petitions are asking for grace. When you are arguing a case in court, you rely on precedent. In a petition for grace, you are arguing the facts of the case not the law so you don’t rely on case law. There may be some factors listed in a statute that offers guidance.
When we are posting on forums such as FAC, we cannot get into minute detail or every exception, so the most of us have to speak in broad terms. When I post I don’t get into the multitude of exceptions. It’s like saying that most persons whose offense date that predates July 1, 2011 are no longer required to register in Michigan. I use the word “most” because this applies to perhaps 90% of the registrants whose offense date predates July 1, 2011. There are exceptions and it is too difficult to list all of the exceptions in this forum. This is a broad statement. Sometimes I simply state, “most registrants whose offense date predates 2012…” for brevity. Obviously, this wouldn’t include registrants whose offense date was from July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. It’s simply easier to state “most” and “before 2012”. Dealing with a specific question, I can get into the exceptions or more detail.
I am glad that FAC is assisting registrants in getting off of the registry and involving attorneys in the process. I don’t know the specific Florida statute involving removal. I can make an educated guess that you first have to qualify, i.e., some states you can’t petition if the victim was under a certain age. After you qualify, you get your ducks in order. If this is a one shot petition and you don’t get a second chance, you need a very capable attorney. Your attorney files the petition and you show up for the hearing, your attorney presents your witnesses and evidence, maybe you testify and then a decision is made. In some states you have the right to appeal.
Without reading the Florida statute, I can make an educated guess that this is a petition for grace. With a petition for grace (like parole), it’s discretionary. Having evidence like a psychiatric evaluation that says you are low risk can be compelling. Case law is not compelling in a request for grace.
I have never read the Florida statute. Show this post to FAC”s attorney and I would bet that it is reasonably accurate.
Not at all…. u think florida is nice lol
People who are available to petition and impeccable records have been turned down. Florida isnt a state u can just get off of. So far only a handful of people have done so successfully… a handful. Florida doesnt care if you’re eligible… They just wanna extort money by keeping u on the list. I suggest u read up before assuming its all easy to get out and giving wrong information.
Nina:
An inquiry is vague and means nothing. Filing a petition initiates a formal proceeding where you have the right to present witnesses and evidence and receive a decision that is appealable.
There is a lot of misinformation on this website and FAC should flag these posts.
it isn’t misinformation! FAC should flag your post because you obv have no idea what you’re saying!!!
he couldn’t even petition unless he moved to florida and registered in florida in the first place. why would he want to do that when he was already off the registry to begin with?
there’s no petition… to move to florida.
Jacob:
Apparently, Florida has a petition for removal from the registry. The point I was trying to make is if you are removed in another state, it will support your petition for removal in Florida.
Not at all… I knw someone who was removed in Georgia. Off any and all registries and when he went to inquire about moving to Florida, they said he would have to register. Even though hes not on any registries now. Ridiculous.
Detroit, I know you are concerned about misinformation on this website. It so happens that the law governing registry removal has been covered here many times, and was also discussed in an FAC conference call whose guest was an attorney who had represented many successful petitioners.
In Florida you can’t just get off the registry (or avoid registration) by filing a petition. The law has to allow for removal, otherwise the petition will be denied.
What precedent is there for a Florida judge to be persuaded to remove a petitioner from the the registry because another state removed that petitioner from theirs?
People v Buckley, 848 P2d 353 (CO, 1993).
David Ulrich:
Thank you for bringing up the point that she is and CONTINUES TO BE an officer of the court. To see the proper response to a prosecutor’s actions read People v Buckley, 848 P2d 353 (CO 19930.
A good book to read is Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor by Angela J. Davis
Does it surprise anyone that Nolle Prossed was the final result for a crime that appears there is evidence for?
After all she is an officer of the courts.
These folks have no idea what it is like to live life after a mistake in life.
Nor do they care…
Captain Muncey actually has a pretty compelling argument. A captain in the army is an O-3. I believe a captain in the navy is an O-5 which would make him a midgrade officer. As a midgrade officer he has had to have a pretty high security clearance.
He was taken off of the registry in Virginia, has gone decades without reoffense and this country trusted him with some of the nation’s most sensitive information. Sounds like a winning case even in the 11th Circuit.
Thank you for your courage to serve, sir.
Captain Munsey brings up an interesting point. He is not required to register in Virginia and is required to register in Florida. Thousands of registrants can be removed from the registry simply by moving to another state. Pennsylvania is an emerging state with some positive but conflicting court decisions that I’m sure would remove thousands from the registry. The coast of Virginia is not as cold as Pennsylvania or Michigan with a climate more like a cold Florida. Registrants in Florida should be looking up Virginia’s laws to determine if they are required to register there.
Also, one of the elements finding these laws unconstitutional is the necessity of keeping these individuals on the registry. Florida keeping Captain Muncey on the registry after he was removed from the registry in Virginia destroys Florida’s argument for keeping him on the registry. Captain Muncey has a good test case and I would recommend that registrants raise funds for him to challenge his registration requirement. This could remove thousands from the registry in Florida.
Removal from another state’s registry does not trigger removal in Florida. There is nothing stopping Florida from requiring people to register after other states have ceased to. Every state is different, and there is nothing special about Virginia when it comes to registration.
Are you aware of FAC’s Out-of-State Challenge? We have been raising funds for it.
This is an easy one. Simply write the attorney back with a one-sentence reply:
It’s not meant to be punishment.
Awesome!