TN: Judge orders state to remove men from sex offender registry
A federal judge ruled Monday that Tennessee’s sex offender registration act is unconstitutional, at least as it was applied retroactively to two offenders.
The ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee affects only the two men who sued, identified in court documents as John Doe #1 and John Doe #2.
“I think the ruling, while it is narrowly tailored to our clients, does open the door to the possibility of a class action,” attorney Ed Yarbrough said in an interview.
U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson had already ruled in February that parts of the law violated the Ex Post Facto Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prevents people from being punished by a law passed after their crime was committed. On Monday, he ordered the state to stop enforcing any part of the law against the two plaintiffs and to remove their names from the sex offender registry.
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Can anyone get a copy of the actual ruling?
This raises an interesting question for people who were convicted outside of Tennessee. For many offenses it would appear that Tennessee law imposes registration and the restrictions like the thousand foot rule and having to register all of your Internet information for 10 years from the time of convictionOr, in the case of out-of-state registrants who moved to Tennessee, five years on the registration in Tennessee which ever is greater. It would be interesting to see when that “or five year” provision was passed. The “which ever is greater, or “for life for persons convicted outside of the state” provisions in a number of state registration laws impact folks like us greatly because we are treated differently than “homegrown” registrants. Obviously this is done to keep us from moving to another state.
That should have read 10 years after end of sanctions
I have to say, since I have moved to TN, I have been treated with more respect and dignity than i ever was in FL.
I deal with 1 person, always friendly and respectful, he even calls you, as a courtesy, to remind you, if it is your registration month and you have not contacted him to set up a time to come.
sure there are things I dont like, ( ie .. no one under 18 allowed to sleep under same roof unless they are your children or grand children, 1000 foot housing rule )
I have spoke with him and he says 5 years to the date I moved into TN, I will be dropped off of list, will fall right at the same time I hit the 20 year mark in fl and plan to petition fl to remove me also
How long have you been there? If you still have a fair number of years it might be good to look into when they instituted that five-year on the registry rule cause it’s pretty clear that had you been convicted in Tennessee you would likely be off the registry already. Same thing for the thousand foot rule and the Internet identifier rule.
JoeM, The 10 years on the registry are for few sex related charges that are not deemed Aggravated. Anytime a charge is classed aggravated, the offender goes into a Violent status and is required a lifetime reporting. The aggravated charge does not need to be a violent charge but only be classed in the state as one of those that gets to be violent. There are no classification hearings – only some predefined laws that magically class you.
I actually fit similarly as one of these John Does’ case. Sentenced early in 1997 and I live in TN. Yes, I will be contacting this law firm.
FYP: I also follow FAC because in TN we do not have such action groups. Thank you FAC.
thats the problem i am running into right now, they have on the ” violent ” list, i have spoken to the the Detective and my attorney, both say it is incorrect, but with the pandemic, everyone is working from home, say it will get fixed eventually, and then it will convert to the 5 years from date of 1st registration in tn
J. Is your charge aggravated? If so, you are classed violent and on life registration. That’s TN law.
no, not aggravated. 2 counts of possession ( PC ) adjud withheld
Good point. I’m interested in how this ruling will actually have an effect on Florida if any.
I intend this as a constructive comment. It is unclear to me why someone is using his or her time to create these messages about other states, and what benefit recipients receive from taking their time to read and comment on them. Most of them have not the slightest relevance to our laws and policies in Florida.
(1) we have members in multiple states.
(2) even though its not binding precedent it’s persuasive precedent.
The TN win began in Michigan.
Had the TN lawyers considered only TN case law, they’d’ve lost
I’m grateful the the Florida lawyers in our FEDERAL Florida suits consider precedent from wherever’s relevant.
Daniel
I myself am in Florida. I enjoy seeing wins for others as it gives me hope that someone out there has a heart or at least the where withall to follow the law and rule in our favor. Unlike many judges who rule from their personal disgust of offenders, or fear they will not be renewed as a judge because they stood for offenders over the Holier than thou John Q public.
Also, lawyers in other states can study how those cases were won and possibly use that information for legal foundation of what a judge elsewhere ruled in a similar case.
Additionally, even though FAC Starts with Florida, it is open to anyone and we can all share wins and losses. We support each other with encourangement to not give up, get back up and get back in the fight and next time come out swinging 10 times harder than before.
Just my humble most unimportant opinion.
CherokeeJack
Well said.
Registration is a national problem, particularly since passage of the Adam Walsh Act. Each positive court case, particularly in federal courts, adds weight to the argument for getting rid of registration entirely. The various circuits may disagree over specifics such as what constitutes punishment and how far a state can go. Having those circuit splits is a good thing because the Supreme Court might need to step in to resolve the issues.
ED C, The ‘Hit List, aka The Registry, is supposed to be Non-Punitive, which we all is NOT THE CASE!
Google, ‘John Walsh, Prison Legal News’
-and you will find the real truth!
Enjoy the Read
Everyone here knows the registry is indeed punishment. Unfortunately the registry is not legally punishment until precedent-setting courts– particularly the Supreme Court–declare it to be. Our opinions, observations and experiences will not end the practice. We need to keep hammering in courts, legislatures and in educating the public. This is tedious but necessary.
This Judge pulled their Price Club membership… No fair.
Another state again why don’t you post things the only effect florida?Who cares what happens in other states it doesn’t effect florida it just gives people false hope.Think about you all what good has happened to people in Florida! Right nothing!
Why doesn’t it affect Florida?
Hey Tired, this post is not false hope. We all need to be aware of what is happening in other states as more and more registrants fight for their rights. Their fights are our fights because we all want to be off these various registries. And if you paid attention to the lawsuit that got these two guys off, it had to do with ex-post facto challenges…very similar to the challenges that FAC is pursuing FOR US in two different Florida law suits!
Bob
Although I agree with you 100%, most of these cases are ruled for those who were named in the lawsuit and not any of the rest of us. We usually have to try and go in with our own lawyers and our own money(if you have the money) and use those wins as a precedent for your own case.
Rarely are blanket rulings made. Not saying there are none but it is rare. And the option in Florida’s ex post facto has both options, giving the judge an out to only let those named off the registry.
Not being a negative Nancy, But as Joe Friday use to say,” just the facts”.
Tired,
I lived in Florida for 20 + years and was forced to register for the last 14 years there, I now live in Tennessee. Unfortunately, TN does not have any organizations like FAC , so I still monitor the post daily. so this does provide as service that is needed.
Tired. I dont agree with your comment. It is important to see what is happening in all areas, both good and bad. The various judicial districts do look over each others shoulders. With that said, this decision does affect FL persons.
I think what will happen next is Florida will stop recognizing TN as a viable state.
I believe that the registration for offenders should end except for repeat offenders and actual predators.
There are people who are on the registry that have not committed the crimes they are accused of and it was just the point of a finger that someone that was angry or had a vendetta against them.
Then the supposed victim was manipulated to say what they did. And had nothing to do with the accused.
Thank you for letting me vent something that has been on my mind for quite some time.
How would registration deter repeat offenders and predators?
Nope. Sex Offense Registries (Hit Lists) shouldn’t exist. Not in any shape, for anyone. If you are one of the people who fantasizes that they do anything useful, I’d encourage you to visit reality.
If a person is dangerous then he/she can be on probation or parole. Other than that, forget about it. A person who is on probation or parole can only barely be controlled. After that, it is impossible and therefore useless. But the Hit Lists aren’t just worthless, they are a lot worse.