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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Ind. Decisions - "Court limits sex offender residency law"

The Court of Appeals decision yesterday in the case of State of Indiana v. Anthony Pollard is the subject of several stories today. (See ILB entry here - 3rd case.)

Jeff Parrott reports in the South Bend Tribune:

The Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday declared unconstitutional a 2006 state law barring registered sex offenders from living near schools, parks and youth centers in cases where the offender had already owned his home when the law took effect.

The three-judge panel's unanimous decision, upholding a Blackford County trial court judge's ruling from June, determined the law was "ex post facto," meaning it effectively criminalized conduct that had not been criminal before the law took effect July 1, 2006.

Defendant Anthony W. Pollard, charged with a Class D felony sex offender registry offense, has lived in and owned his home for 20 years. In appealing the trial court ruling, the state had argued that since Pollard had violated the residency law after July 1, 2006, he was being punished merely for that violation.

"However," the appeals court wrote, "that punishment restricts an ownership interest in property that Pollard acquired before the statute came into effect; it is not just a potential penalty for continuing to reside within the exclusionary zone after the effective date of the statute."

"Court restricts part of sex offender residency law" is the headline of an AP story today in the Chicago Tribune that begins:
INDIANAPOLIS - The state cannot force convicted sex offenders who live near schools or other places frequented by children to move if they owned their homes before passage of a state law restricting their residency, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.

The court said Tuesday that the 2006 law that prohibits convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, public park or youth program center was unconstitutional in such cases.

The unanimous 10-page ruling upheld a Blackford County judge's opinion, holding that the state law was an ex post facto law that punished sex offenders for behavior that was not criminal when it was committed -- in this case, home ownership.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 14, 2008 10:00 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions