1. Hope Professor Catherine L. Carpenter Southwestern Law School
Vice President - Alliance for
Constitutional Sex Offense Laws 1

2. 2017 A Sign Of Hope: Shifting Attitudes On Sex Offense Registration Laws, 47 Sw. L. Rev Throwaway Children: The Tragic Consequences of a False Narrative, 45 SW L. Rev [book chapter] Caught in the Web of the Criminal Justice System… Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2014 Against Juvenile Sex Offender Reg, 82 U. Cin. L. Rev Emotion, Registration, and Juv. Offenders 3 J. Race & Gender 2012 The Evolution of Unconstitutionality in Sex Offender Registration Laws, 63 Hastings L. J Legislative Epidemics…, 58 Buff. L. Rev The Constitutionality of Strict Liability in Sex Offender Registration Laws, 86 BU L. Rev On Statutory Rape…53 Am. U. L. Rev. 313

3. The power of citizen activists
to make constitutional change.
An excellent read on the journeys of movements.

4. 904,011
on registry
They deserve access to housing, employment, and the support to reintegrate

5. A moral panic has set in: Fear that is wildly distorted and wrongly directed
Reptilian
Brain
Behavior
Irrational behavior
based on fear 5

6. What are the characteristics of a Moral Panic?
the official reaction to a person, groups of persons or series of events is out of all proportion to the actual threat offered.
when police chiefs, the judiciary, politicians and editors perceive the threat in all but identical terms, and appear to talk with one voice of rates, diagnoses, prognoses and solutions.
when the media representations universally stress sudden and dramatic increases.

7. “the risk of recidivism is frightening and high” from Smith v. Doe
The legislature's findings are consistent with grave concerns over the high rate of recidivism among convicted sex offenders and their dangerousness as a class. The risk of recidivism posed by sex offenders is "frightening and high." McKune v. Lile, 536 U.S. 24, 34, 122 S.Ct. 2017, 153 L.Ed.2d 47 (2002); see also id., at 33, 122 S.Ct ("When convicted sex offenders reenter society, they are much more likely than any other type of offender to be rearrested for a new rape or sexual assault" (citing U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sex Offenses and Offenders 27 (1997);

8. “the risk of recidivism is frightening and high” from Smith v. Doe
The authors explain what a sticky message looks like. “Frightening and High” is a sticky message
It is a simple statement
It has emotional appeal “frightening”
It comes from a credible source-the US Supreme Court

9. And rates substantially reduce over time
Facts Matter. Recidivism rates are much lower than the public believes.
And rates substantially reduce
over time

10. High
Medium
Low

11. The Supreme Court’s Mistakes
Smith v. Doe
(Registration laws are only civil regulations. Really?)
Conn. Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Doe
(all offenders can be on State’s registry w/o individualized hearing on dangerousness. Really?) 11

12. What is the effect
of labelling registration laws “civil regulations”?
A green light to….
More Burdensome Registration Laws
Expands offenses
Longer periods of duration
Retroactive application
Juveniles on the registry
non-sexual offenses included

13. hope part I court decisions13

14. Is it a Civil Regulation v. Punishment?
1. Did the Legislature intend for law to be civil regulation or punishment?
2. Even if legislative intent is civil, is law so punitive in purpose or effect to make it punishment.
questions we ask
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

15. Sex offender registration is not a civil regulation.
If it walks like a duck and
quacks like a duck…
guess what? It is a duck.
Please stop telling us it is not a duck!
Sex offender registration
is not a civil regulation.
It is punishment.
Pure and simple.

16. Hurray! Doe v. Snyder (Aug. 2016)
Finally, a federal court has acknowledged that SORNA IS punishment
It challenged the Smith assumptions
Quack quack 16

17. Why Doe v. Snyder Stands Out
Near total banishment due to residency and presence restrictions (work, live, “loiter”)
Burden on registrant is substantial. Burden is not minor or indirect
Angry at State for producing scant evidence to support the imposition of these burdens
Smith did not give states a blank check to do whatever they please
Quack quack 17

18. Hurray! Millard v. Rankin (Col. Aug 2017)
The Court wrote:
Registered sex offenders and their family and friends face a known, real, and serious threat of retaliation, violence, ostracism, shaming and other unfair and irrational treatment from the public, directly resulting from their status as sex offenders.
registered sex offenders and their families and friends face a known, real, and serious threat of retaliation, violence, ostracism, shaming, and other unfair and irrational treatment from the public, directly resulting from their status as registered sex offenders
Quack quack 18

19. SOR laws violate substantive and procedural due process
Why Miller Stands Out
Not only are SOR laws punishment….they are cruel and unusual punishment
Fundamental flaw in system that there is no individualized risk assessment
Used real stories to describe the cruel and unusual nature of the punishment
SOR laws violate substantive and procedural due process
Quack quack 19

20. Hurray-a little! Ala. District Court (2015)
McGuire v. Strange
“Alabama’s scheme goes miles beyond the minimum federal requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act.”
Appeal to the 11th circuit 3 years ago.
Quack quack 20

21. hope part II Legislative changes21

22. Residency restrictions are falling and failing
The Tiered Registry – not everything we hoped for – it is a mixed bag - but still an important change worth noting
Residency restrictions are falling and failing 22

23. Because of ACSOL’s efforts
37 cities have repealed residency restrictions, stayed enforcement, or reduced the buffer zone
Grover Beach, Arcadia, Cypress, Murrieta, Gardena,
Bell Gardens, Norwalk, Long Beach, Apple Valley, Tustin, Carson, Fullerton, Desert Hot Springs, Covina,
San Dimas, Inglewood, Adelanto, Seal Beach, Monrovia, Temecula, Glendora, Compton, Claremont,
Twentynine Palms, Alhambra, Hawaiian Gardens, Pico Rivera, Grand Terrace, Hemet, Loma Linda, Victorville, Yucaipa, Cerritos, Rosemead, San Jacinto
Thank you Janice!

24. hope part III the media 24

25. Zach Anderson, 19
Convicted of statutory rape for having sex with a 14 year old he thought was 17 years old. Was forced onto the registry.
Zach faced 61 registration burdens. He had to leave his family home because his 15 year old brother lived at home. He could not own a smart phone; he could not speak with anyone under 17 years of age, he had to drop being a computer science major at college; he could not go to a restaurant that served alcohol. His case brought national attention to the egregious nature of registration burdens,

26. Creating our own sticky messages with the media
Zach Anderson, 19
Check out the stickiness of this message

27. Hope Professor Catherine L. Carpenter Southwestern Law School
Vice President - Alliance for
Constitutional Sex Offense Laws 27