Opinion ID: 2184643
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Hyatt v. Commonwealth, 2000-SC-0676-DG

Text: In this case, Hyatt sexually abused his younger sister over a period of time. In 1991, he pled guilty to one count of first-degree sexual abuse and the circuit court sentenced him to one year in prison. The sentence was suspended and Hyatt was probated for a period of three years. After the trial judge revoked his probation, Hyatt pled guilty to additional charges of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy. In 1993, the circuit court sentenced him to five years in prison on each count to be served consecutively. On January 11, 1999, the circuit court ordered Hyatt, an inmate, to undergo a sex offender risk assessment pursuant to KRS 17.570. That statute provides: Upon conviction of a sex crime as defined in KRS 17.500 and within sixty calendar days prior to the discharge, release, or parole of a sex offender, the sentencing court shall order a sex offender risk assessment by a certified provider for the following purposes: (a) To determine whether the offender should be classified as a high, moderate or low risk sex offender; (b) To designate the length of time a sex offender shall register pursuant to KRS 17.500 to KRS 17.540 and (c) To designate the type of community notification that shall be provided upon the release of the sex offender pursuant to KRS 17.500 to 17.540. Hyatt was represented by counsel at a hearing and on the morning of the hearing the risk assessment arrived by facsimile and the circuit court admitted the report. Hyatt did not present any evidence to counter the conclusions of the report and the court relied on the report exclusively to classify Hyatt as a high-risk sex offender. Hyatt appealed this classification to the Court of Appeals which affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded. The Court of Appeals noted the differences between the 1994 and 1998 Acts in that the 1994 Act required a sex offender to register within two weeks of his release from prison and to remain registered for ten years. In 1998, the General Assembly amended the statute to require sex offenders to be classified as low, moderate or high risk offenders which in turn would determine the length of time the defendant was required to register and who would be notified of such registration. The Court of Appeals panel rejected the constitutional objections of Hyatt to the statutory system and found that neither double jeopardy, ex post facto, nor due process rendered the statute unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals did reverse and remand on procedural due process grounds, holding that Hyatt was entitled to call expert witnesses and to receive timely notice of the Risk Assessment Report. Hyatt argues that the Court of Appeals erred in holding that the 1998 and 2000 versions of KRS 17.500 et seq. on their faces, and as applied to him, did not violate the ex post facto clauses of the state and federal constitutions. He contends that the retroactive application of the 1998 and 2000 statutes violates his state and federal protection against ex post facto legislation and that the Kentucky Registration and Notification Statutes were not intended to apply to persons who were convicted before July 15, 1994. He was assessed under the 1998 Act. Hyatt also maintains that the Court of Appeals erred in determining that he had no protected liberty interest and also failed to provide the circuit court with sufficient guidance on the procedures that it should follow upon remand, thus violating his federal and state constitutional due process rights. The Commonwealth responds that the Sex Offender Registration Statute does not violate the constitutional protection against ex post facto laws and does not violate liberty interests in privacy or reputation. It claims that the Court of Appeals provided the trial court with sufficient guidance upon rehearing for a new risk assessment.
There is no question that the registration statute has a retroactive effect in this case. At the time Hyatt committed the sex crimes against his younger sister, he was not required to register as a sex offender. However, Hyatt is not able to satisfy the second prong of the ex post facto test set out in Weaver v. Graham, 450 U.S. 24, 101 S.Ct. 960, 67 L.Ed.2d 17 (1981), or Lattimore v. Corrections Cabinet, Ky.App., 790 S.W.2d 238 (1990). Graham, supra , sets out a two-pronged test to establish whether a criminal or penal law was ex post facto to the effect that it must be retrospective, that is, it must apply to events occurring before its enactment, and it must disadvantage the offender affected by it. See also Lynce v. Mathis, 519 U.S. 433, 117 S.Ct. 891, 137 L.Ed.2d 63 (1997). In Lattimore, supra , we have followed the same analysis. We agree with the rationale of the Court of Appeals in Lattimore to the effect that ex post facto laws must relate to a very real and direct effect on the actual time the prisoner remains behind bars which could include an increase in punishment. That is not the case here. Registration and Notification Statutes across the nation have consistently been held to be remedial measures, not punitive, and therefore do not amount to punishment or increased punishment. The United States Supreme Court in Kansas v. Hendricks, 521 U.S. 346, 117 S.Ct. 2072, 138 L.Ed.2d 501 (1997), rejected constitutional challenges to Kansas' Sexually Violent Predator Act which authorized civil commitment procedures for an individual who previously had been convicted of a sex crime and was subsequently found to be a sexually violent predator in a civil proceeding. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected claims that the statute imposed punishment in violation of the ex post facto clause. Most state and federal courts have determined that sex offender classification and registration, including community notification, does not violate the ex post facto provisions of either the state or federal constitution. See e.g. E.B. v. Verniero, 119 F.3d 1077 (3rd Cir.1997); Arizona Dept. of Public Safety v. Superior Court, 190 Ariz. 490, 949 P.2d 983 (App.1997) review denied, 192 Ariz. 276, 964 P.2d 477 (1998); Kellar v. Fayetteville Police Dep't, 339 Ark. 274, 5 S.W.3d 402 (1999); People v. Castellanos, 21 Cal.4th 785, 88 Cal.Rptr.2d 346, 982 P.2d 211 (1999); Ray v. State, 133 Idaho 96, 982 P.2d 931 (1999); Spencer v. O'Connor, 707 N.E.2d 1039 (Ind.Ct.App.1999); In re Detention of Garren, 620 N.W.2d 275 (Iowa 2000); State v. Wilkinson, 269 Kan. 603, 9 P.3d 1 (2000); State v. Torres, 254 Neb. 91, 574 N.W.2d 153 (1998); Meinders v. Weber, 604 N.W.2d 248 (S.D.2000) The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Statutes of Tennessee and determined that the system did not impose punishment and thus did not violate the ex post facto clause of the federal constitution. See Cutshall v. Sundquist, 193 F.3d 466 (6th Cir.1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1053, 120 S.Ct. 1554, 146 L.Ed.2d 460 (2000). See also Doe, supra . As stated in Doe, what counts is the purpose and design of the statutory provision, its remedial goal and purposes and not the resulting consequential impact that may inevitably but incidentally flow from it. See also Russell v. Gregoire, 124 F.3d 1079 (9th Cir.1997); State v. Cook, 83 Ohio St.3d 404, 700 N.E.2d 570 (1998); Commonwealth v. Mountain, 711 A.2d 473 (Pa.Super.1998), although apparently at variance with Commonwealth v. Williams, 557 Pa. 285, 733 A.2d 593 (1999). We are persuaded that the designation of sexual predator is not a sentence or a punishment but simply a status resulting from a conviction of a sex crime. Cf. Fletcher v. State, 699 So.2d 346 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1997). Another Florida case, Collie v. State, 710 So.2d 1000 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1058, 119 S.Ct. 624, 142 L.Ed.2d 563 (1998), correctly noted that registration requirements did not constitute a disability or restraint; the registration did not place limitations on the activities of the offender, and the registration requirement was insignificant in comparison to the goal of protecting the public. Texas and Illinois have also held that because the sexual offender registration requirement is remedial in nature, it does not impose punishment for constitutional purposes and is not open to an ex post facto challenge. See People v. Malchow, 193 Ill.2d 413, 250 Ill.Dec. 670, 739 N.E.2d 433 (2000); Saldana v. State, 33 S.W.3d 70 (Tex.App.2000). The Kentucky 1998 and 2000 Sex Offender Registration Statutes are directly related to the nonpunitive goals of protecting the safety of the public. The statutes in question do not amount to a separate punishment based on past crimes. The Registration and Notification Statutes are reasonably related to the nonpunitive goals of protecting the public and facilitating law enforcement. Doe v. Pataki, 120 F.3d 1263 (2nd Cir.1997). Registration is a reasonable and proper means for achieving its purpose and completely consistent with the exercise of the police power of the Commonwealth to protect the safety and general welfare of the public. Snyder v. State, 912 P.2d 1127 (Wyo.1996). Any potential punishment arising from the violation of the Sex Offender's Registration Act is totally prospective and is not punishment for past criminal behavior. See Kitze v. Commonwealth, 23 Va.App. 213, 475 S.E.2d 830 (1996). Although registration might impose a burden on a convicted sex offender, registration is merely a remedial aspect of the sentence. See Kitze, supra . The registration and notification required by the statutes are nonpunitive and provide only the slightest inconvenience to the defendant, although they provide the overwhelming public policy objective of protecting the public. We are not persuaded by the citation to several Louisiana state cases that held the retroactive application of sex offender registration statutes violates the ex post facto clause of the Louisiana and federal constitutions. Recently, the Louisiana Supreme Court in State ex rel. Olivieri v. State, 779 So.2d 735 (La.2001), held that retroactive application of the sex offender registration system does not violate the state or federal ex post facto laws. Moreover, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the sex offender registration system which was applicable to all sex offenders without ascertaining the likelihood of recidivism, was not so obtrusive so as to be punitive rather than remedial or regulatory. We believe that the Louisiana Supreme Court has rendered the final word on that state's position. It is the decision of this Court that the opinion of the Court of Appeals holding that the sex offender classification, registration and notification system is constitutional must be affirmed. The statutes do not amount to an ex post facto violation. The registration laws do not punish sex offenders. They have a regulatory purpose only. The dissemination of information has never been considered a form of punishment. The Act in question does not impose any additional punishment on Hyatt, and are not ex post facto laws under either the United States Constitution or the Kentucky Constitution. We further agree with the Court of Appeals that this case should be remanded to the circuit court because of the untimely arrival of the Risk Assessment Report. In addition, we believe the case should be remanded for the failure of Dr. Wagner to attend the hearing. The procedural due process rights of Hyatt were violated at the risk assessment hearing because the report arrived too late to provide him with notice of its contents, to allow his counsel to read and consider it and to allow sufficient time for preparation including the calling of expert witnesses, if any, to counter the conclusions of the report. We remand this case for an evidentiary hearing, in accordance with the pre-2000 amendments, which would include the rights to present an expert witness. We agree with the Court of Appeals that the failure of the victim to testify is of no consequence because this hearing involves a risk assessment, not a criminal trial. Hyatt waived his constitutional rights to confrontation by pleading guilty. Centers v. Commonwealth, Ky.App. 799 S.W.2d 51 (1990).
Hyatt argues that he has a nontrivial privacy interest under both the federal and state constitutions to prevent the Commonwealth from disclosing his personal information including his home address to the public. The sex offender registration statutory system does not violate any liberty interests in privacy or reputation that can be inferred from Section Fourteen of the Kentucky Constitution. Although rights of privacy have been argued in many ways, it would appear there is no specific language about the right to privacy as such in either the federal or state constitution. As noted in Doe v. Poritz , we must decide whether the intrusion on the right of privacy in regard to address and photographs is justified by balancing the governmental interest in disclosure against the private interest in confidentiality. In that case, after considering all the factors, the Supreme Court of New Jersey found that the state interest in public disclosure substantially outweighed any interest in privacy. There is an express public policy militating toward disclosure: the danger of recidivism posed by sex offenders. The state interest in protecting the safety of members of the public from sex offenders is clear and compelling. Doe. We must agree. The Commonwealth of Kentucky has a serious and vital interest in protecting its citizens from harm which outweighs any inconvenience that may be suffered because of the notification and registration provisions. The statute clearly serves a public policy and is a wise use of government resources all of which is to be decided by the legislature. Cf. Sisters of Charity Health Systems, Inc. v. Raikes, Ky., 984 S.W.2d 464 (1998); Commonwealth v. Allen, 980 S.W.2d 278 (1998). The argument by Hyatt that registration and notification violate his right of privacy has been rejected by most of the states that have enacted such legislation, as well as the federal courts. See e.g. Paul P. v. Verniero, 170 F.3d 396 (3d Cir.1999); Russell v. Gregoire, supra ; Lanni v. Engler, 994 F.Supp. 849 (E.D.Mich.1998); Doe; Commonwealth v. Mountain, 711 A.2d 473 (Pa.Super.1998). Matters which have been exposed to public view may be disclosed without implementing privacy interests. See Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976); In re Meyer, 142 Wash.2d 608, 16 P.3d 563 (2001). The Illinois Supreme Court in People v. Malchow, 193 Ill.2d 413, 250 Ill.Dec. 670, 739 N.E.2d 433 (2000), rejected the argument that registration, which included home address, fingerprints and a photograph, infringed on the right to privacy under the United States Constitution. Indiana has also rebuffed a similar challenge concerning public dissemination of information regarding crime in order to allow the public to protect themselves. See Spencer v. O'Connor, 707 N.E.2d 1039 at 1043 (Ind.Ct.App.1999). As noted in Spencer, supra , a significant part of the information contained in the registration is already in the public domain and is accessible by the public. The compilation of the information in one place does not add a punitive consequence to an otherwise regulatory measure. The information is not truly personal data that is subject to privacy because a convicted sex offender never had a reasonable expectation of privacy in regard to the information that is now consolidated and posted on the sex offender registry. Public notification by means of the Internet has been determined not to violate the right of privacy in other jurisdictions. See Femedeer v. Haun, 227 F.3d 1244 (10th Cir.2000); State v. Stevens, 26 Kan.App.2d 606, 992 P.2d 1244 (1999). The Court of Appeals correctly found that neither the federal nor the state constitution prohibited the disclosure of such information when the public health or safety is involved.
Hyatt contends that the Court of Appeals failed to provide the circuit court with adequate guidance to hold a constitutionally sufficient risk assessment hearing upon remand. We disagree. The argument by Hyatt that the Court of Appeals did not address the argument that the definition of sex offender contained in the 1998 version of KRS 17.550(2) presumed that he was a sex offender even before he appeared for the risk assessment hearing is without merit because he never raised such a claim of error before the Court of Appeals. Consequently, that court had no responsibility to address the claim of error. However, by pleading guilty to second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy and upon notification of his impending release from prison, he was properly assessed for the sex offender registration program although he now argues he does not fit the definition. KRS 17.510(2) reads as follows: Any person eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of the offense or any youthful offender who has committed or attempted to commit a sex crime shall, within ten (10) days after his release by the court, the parole board, or the cabinet, register with the appropriate local probation and parole office in the county in which he resides. This definition is used only for the purpose of actual risk assessment determinations. KRS 17.510(2) relates to which persons are required to register. Hyatt also claims that the Court of Appeals failed to specify the exact nature of the burden of proof. However, once again, he failed to raise the issue in the Court of Appeals and thus the court had no opportunity or duty to address the question. KRS 17.500 et seq. sets out the guidelines for the trial court to follow upon rendering a risk assessment determination. The trial judge is required to review all evidence presented by both sides. The trial judge did follow such a requirement and there is no error. The issue regarding the reliability of the evidence submitted during the risk assessment test was not properly presented to the Court of Appeals. It is our view on the merits of the question that the trial judge correctly exercised his authority in accepting the results of the risk assessment evaluation without qualifying the tests pursuant to Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993) or Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999). The trial judge is not required to hold an actual hearing in order to comply with Daubert ; Kumho, supra, at 152, 119 S.Ct. at 1176, 143 L.Ed.2d at 252; Nelson v. Tenn. Gas Pipeline, 243 F.3d 244, 249 (6th Cir.2001). The Court of Appeals correctly held that Hyatt did not have the right to confront his victim because such a right has generally been held to only apply to trials as distinguished from a risk assessment hearing. We recognize the fact that Hyatt on direct appeal to the Court of Appeals did not raise the issues of whether he was entitled to prehearing discovery or that the Commonwealth must devise a notification plan that accounts for the actual level of risk that is posed to the community. Finally, Hyatt can cite no authority that supports his argument that the Commonwealth must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the high risk classification, as well as its proposed notification plan are justified. The statute sets out specific guidelines for the trial judge to follow in making a determination of the risk. The statute does not place a clear and convincing evidence standard of proof element on the Commonwealth. It is the decision of this Court that the opinion of the Court of Appeals is affirmed in all respects which means that a remand is necessary because the procedural due process rights of Hyatt were violated. The Act is constitutional as applied.