Court Opinion

ID: 9844906
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:11:33.886971+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:15:47.025222
License: Public Domain

CLABORNE, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that the defendant’s registration as a sex offender does not offend the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws.
The trial court required the defendant to register as a sex offender pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-3821 for crimes which he committed before the effective date of the statute. Recently, in State v. Noble, 167 Ariz. 440, 808 P.2d 325 (App.1990), a different panel of this court held that such a requirement violates the ex post facto clause of the Arizona Constitution. The court concluded that § 13-3821 is a criminal penalty and imposes increased burdens on a defendant. Noble, at 446, 808 P.2d at 331. I find Noble very persuasive and would apply it.
My disagreement with the majority lies in their belief that § 13-3821 is, on balance, more regulatory than penal. I realize that our objective is to divine the legislative purpose of the sex offender registration statutes. See A.R.S. §§ 13-3821 through 13-3824. In view of the legislature’s silence, our task is difficult. We must determine whether registration was designed merely to regulate certain criminal activity or whether in reality it acts as punishment.
The purpose of registration, as perceived by the majority, is to aid law enforcement in the investigation of reported sex offenses. I have no quarrel with this perception when applied to crimes considered aberrant and more likely to be repeated such as sexual abuse, § 13-1404; sexual conduct with a minor, § 13-1405; sexual assault, § 13-1406; and molestation of a child, § 13-1410. I do not believe, however, that this purpose is served when registration is applied to crimes classified as class 3 misdemeanors, such as adultery, § 13-1408; open and notorious cohabitation, § 13-1409; lewd and lascivious acts, § 13-1412; and the infamous crime against nature, § 13-1411.
Furthermore, registration for misdemeanor sex offenses places an onerous burden upon the registrant in light of the statutory penalty for the offense. For example, a person convicted of adultery or open and notorious cohabitation must register as a sex offender for life. The maximum amount of time the individual may spend in prison is thirty days. See A.R.S. § 13-707(A)(3). After the offender pays his or her debt to the community, either by fine or imprisonment, registration continues. The offender is subject to police interrogation and employers may be told of the sexual transgression. The only explanation for lifetime registration of misdemean- or sex offenders is retribution and deterrence.
The majority cites the opinions of two courts which have considered whether registration of sex offenders is more penal than regulatory. In In re Reed, the California Supreme Court, using the same analysis as the majority here, concluded that California’s sex registration statute was penal in nature, and that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment. 33 Cal.3d 914, 191 Cal-Rptr. 658, 663 P.2d 216 (1983). The California Supreme Court, applying the analysis of Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144, 83 S.Ct. 554, 9 L.Ed.2d 644, said:
Although the Legislature may reasonably have intended that sex offender registration serve as a law enforcement tool to facilitate criminal investigations, it is not clear that the measure is effective in practice. Moreover, the fact that a minimal or “rational” basis may underlie the legislation is out-weighed here by the fact that the penalty of registration is *458“excessive in relation to the alternative purpose assigned” to it.
In re Reed, 33 Cal.3d at 922, 191 Cal.Rptr. at 661-62, 663 P.2d at 219-220 (footnote omitted, emphasis in original).
In People v. Adams, the Illinois Court of Appeals, which declined to apply the Mendoza-Martinez analysis, held that Illinois’ sex offender registration statute was not punishment. 144 Ill.Dec. 402, 406, 555 N.E.2d 761, 765, appeal allowed, 133 Ill.2d 560, 149 Ill.Dec. 325, 561 N.E.2d 695 (1990). That case is distinguishable from the matter before us for two reasons. First, the Illinois appellate court had before it explicit legislative history which indicated the purpose of registration was to aid law enforcement in preventing future sex offenses against children. Id. 144 Ill.Dec. at 406, 555 N.E.2d at 765. And second, the statute applies to a much narrower class of crimes. Registration comes into play only upon a second conviction for a felony sex offense where the victim is under the age of eighteen. Id. 144 Ill-Dec. at 404, 555 N.E.2d at 763.
Furthermore, the strength of Adams is questionable. The case is on review by the Illinois Supreme Court and at least one member of the court felt that registration constituted punishment:
I find the Act imposes an affirmative disability or restraint, it comes into play on a finding of scienter, it applies to behavior that is criminal, and, regardless of the legislature’s stated intent, it will promote traditional aims of punishment — retribution and deterrence. I believe the presence of these factors requires finding that the Act is punishment.
I am not convinced that the Act imposes no more of a constraint on liberty than civil disabilities associated with convicted felons such as limitations on possessions of firearms, the right to vote, or the right to hold public office. In my opinion, the Act imposes a more significant affirmative disability or restraint than is stated by the majority. It is a disability that necessarily entails a loss of privacy. Defendant, if he chooses to start a new life in Illinois after his release from custody, must announce himself as a habitual child sex offender to law enforcement in his community. For 10 years he must live his life knowing that local law enforcement has been made aware of his past child sex abuse convictions. I am not persuaded that defendant suffers no more of a loss of privacy than he would by the public record of his convictions. The Act ensures a certain and direct intrusion that may not necessarily result from defendant’s public record. Nor am I persuaded that the confidentiality provision negates finding a loss of privacy. I find the significant intrusion to be the process under the Act itself, not whether the information may be leaked to the community.
Id. 144 Ill.Dec. at 410-11, 555 N.E.2d at 769-70 (Dunn, J., specially concurring).
Given our legislature’s silence and the broad application of § 13-3821, I believe that, on balance, the statute is more penal than regulatory. Therefore, I would reverse that part of the trial court’s judgment and sentence which required the defendant to register under A.R.S. § 13-3821. In all other respects, I would affirm the trial court’s judgment and sentence.