How does the a Sex Offender Registry violate both the “cruel and unusual punishment” and “due process” laws? Does this mean the Registry is headed to DC for the SCOTUS to determine it’s shelf life? – PB/TK
Colorado Federal Judge Makes Head-Turning Ruling and Declares Sex Offender Registry ‘Unconstitutional’ – By Justen Charters (ijr.com)/ Sept 2 2017
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch is a pretty well-known figure in the legal world.
In the ’90s, he presided over the Oklahoma City Bombing trials. But a ruling that Matsch recently made could set a new precedent for sex-offender registries across the country.
Judge Matsch made the decision that Colorado’s sex-offender registry is in violation of the Constitution.
According to Denver Post:
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch found that the Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the due-process rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
Thursday’s ruling came in a civil case filed against Colorado Bureau of Investigation director Michael Rankin in 2013 by registered sex offenders David Millard, Eugene Knight and Arturo Vega.
Matsch found that the men are entitled to compensation and attorney fees, which will be determined later.
Technically, the ruling only applies to the three plaintiffs in the case, but it could lead to more universal impact — particularly if the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the decision on appeal, said Boulder attorney Alison Ruttenberg, the attorney for the three plaintiffs. There are similar cases in other states challenging sex-offender registries.
There haven’t been a lot of government studies into recidivism rates in the last several years. But a May 2016 article for Pew Trusts cites a U.S. Department of Justice study into the issue:
A U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics study in 2003, the most recent available, found that 5.3 percent of inmates released from prison after being convicted of a sex offense are arrested for another sexual offense within three years. (Although researchers generally acknowledge that the recidivism rate may be low because these crimes are underreported.)
The National Sex Offender Registry has been around since 1997. And some think the debate about whether to remove it will end up in front of the Supreme Court.
Continue to ijr.com article: http://ijr.com/the-declaration/2017/09/964736-colorado-federal-judge-makes-head-turning-ruling-declares-sex-offender-registry-unconstitutional/
