Sex offender registration for non-sex convictions

Georgia Supreme Court upholds sex offender registration for non-sex convictions

via Sentencing Law and Policy by Doug B. on 3/16/10

I am thinking that maybe Jeff Foxworthy ought to consider doing some public service announcements in Georgia that are a variation of his famous "You might be a redneck..." routine.  Specifically, I think Foxworthy might help get the word out with lines like:

• "If you are picking up teenagers in your car in Georgia while trying to score some pot, you might be a sex offender....."
• "If you beat up and lock your younger brother in his Georgia bedroom, you might be a sex offender....."
• "If you pick up your grandkid from a Georgia school when it was your former son-in-law's turn, you might be a sex offender....." 

Thanks to How Appealing, I see that the Supreme Court of Georgia, in Rainer v. Georgia, No. S09A1900 (Ga. Mar. 15, 2010) (available here), yesterday upheld a provision of the state's sex offender registry law that requires the registration of certain persons not convicted of sex crimes.  This Atlanta Journal-Constitution article explains:

The law, said to be one of the toughest in the nation, allows the state to keep a tight leash on child molesters, rapists and other sexual predators after they have served their prison time. But it also requires anyone convicted of kidnapping or false imprisonment of a minor to register as a sex offender regardless if a sexual act was committed.

The challenge was brought by Jake Rainer, who committed a drug robbery in Gwinnett County in May 2000. Rainer and his co-defendants picked up a 17-year-old girl who was going to sell them some marijuana. Instead of making a deal, they drove her to a cul-de-sac, took the pot and abandoned her.

Rainer pleaded guilty to robbery and false imprisonment.  Because of the latter conviction, he now has had to register as a sex offender.  This means he cannot live or work within 1,000 feet of places where children congregate, such as parks, schools and swimming pools.

Writing for a 5-2 majority, Justice Harold Melton rejected arguments that the provision, as applied to Rainer, was cruel and unusual punishment. Sex offender registry laws, Melton wrote, "are regulatory, not punitive, in nature." "Because the registration requirements themselves do not constitute punishment, it is of no consequence whether or not one has committed an offense that is 'sexual' in nature before being required to register," Melton wrote....

Writing in dissent, Chief Justice Carol Hunstein said that although registration as a sex offender may not be considered punishment, "it is no mere administrative formality or minor inconvenience." Hunstein added that an offender who commits a sex crime while kidnapping or falsely imprisoning a victim "would clearly be covered" by other provisions of the registry law.

Department of Corrections records show there are dozens of offenders like Rainer who must register as a sex offender even though they committed no sex crime.

Legislation making its way through the state House may give such offenders a way to be released from the law's tough residency and employment restrictions. House Bill 571, which has the support of key lawmakers, allows offenders to petition Superior Court judges to remove them from the registry. 

Posted via email from the Un-Official Southwestern PA Re-Entry Coalition Blog