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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Ind. Decisions - More on: Judge Hamilton holds SB 258 unconstitutional

In John Doe v. Prosecutor, Marion County, an opinion issued by federal Judge David Hamilton June 24th, Senate Enrolled Act 248, which takes effect Monday, July 1st, was held unconstitutional, at least in part. The 51-page opinion concluded:

The court will enter a final declaratory judgment stating that the newly enacted Indiana Code § 11-8-8-8(b) may not be applied to members of the plaintiff class.
The new lanuage of IC 11-8-8-8(b) is at the top of p. 5. It reads:
(b) If the sex or violent offender registers any information under subsection (a)(7), the offender shall sign a consent form authorizing the:
(1) search of the sex or violent offender's personal computer or device with Internet capability, at any time; and
(2) installation on the sex or violent offender's personal computer or device with Internet capability, at the sex or violent offender's expense, of hardware or software to monitor the sex or violent offender's Internet usage.
Elvia Malagon of the Gary Post-Tribune reports today on a news conference by Attorney General Steve Carter on enforcement of the the new law. The story, headed "New state law bars sex offenders from social networking Web sites," does not mention the court case.

Benjamin Lanka of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, also reports on the Attorney General's press conferences yesterday. Some quotes:

Starting next week convicted child predators will be forced to register their virtual addresses along with their physical addresses in Indiana.

Attorney General Steve Carter traveled the state Friday to highlight some state laws taking effect July 1 that protect Hoosier children and consumers. He focused on Senate Enrolled Act 258, which prohibits a registered sex offender convicted of certain crimes involving children from using social networking Web sites, instant messaging programs or chat room programs that the offender knows include children.

Specifically, it requires those offenders to register their e-mail addresses and online user names along with their other information.

“By July 1, cyberspace is going to be a safer place for Hoosier children,” Carter said.

The law requires offenders to update their registry within 72 hours of changing e-mail addresses or user names. Failure to provide such an update will be a Class D felony. Carter said it is likely some offenders will ignore this new provision, but he hopes the threat of further prosecution acts as a deterrent to keep them honest.

A federal judge in U.S. District Court this week ruled the part of the law that requires offenders to allow their computers to be searched is unconstitutional. Offenders would have had to sign a consent form allowing searches of their computers or other Internet-enabled devices at any time. They would also have to install software that monitors their Internet activity at their expense.

On Friday, Carter said the ruling does not curtail the other portions of the law, including the registry of virtual addresses. He said the information on e-mail accounts and user names would be available to the public in the same way home addresses are.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 28, 2008 10:58 AM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions | Indiana Law