Court Opinion

ID: 9492554
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:43:54.761458+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:51:50.455078
License: Public Domain

NATHANIEL R. JONES, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that Cutshall is not entitled to a due process hearing before public disclosure of his sex offender registration and verification information can occur pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. 40-39-106(c) and (d) (1994).1 Like the district court, I believe that Cutshall is entitled to such a hearing. I also take issue with the majority’s final resolution of this case. Because the district court elected to review the constitutionality of just one of the claims presented by the parties, multiple constitutional claims remain pending for resolution. I would therefore remand this case for additional findings by the district court. On these two grounds, I am compelled to dissent.
At the outset, let me make clear my intentions in dissenting. In no way should my dissent be read as minimizing the significant social problems we face as a result of the all-too-prevalent sexual offender *484crimes which occur. Such crimes, when committed against adults, and especially when committed against children, are an affront to the core values that I hold dear. Without question, sexual offenders and sexual predators present a danger, and must be diligently prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. See, e.g., Booth Gunter, Sounding the Alarm on Sexual Predators, Tampa tribune, Mar. 2, 1997, at 1, available in 1997 WL 7037377; Vanessa Ho, Sexual Predators Ride the Internet into Homes Across America, Seattle post-intelligencer, May 6, 1997, at Al, available in 1997 WL 3195702; Tamara Lytle, Sexual Predators Lurk On-Line, Chicago tribune, Nov. 8, 1997, at 10, available in 1997 WL 3608086; Jack Sullivan, Potential for Danger from Sexual Predators is Growing, Boston Herald, Mar. 13, 1999, at 7, available in 1999 WL 3392637. Today, however, I write not in my role as husband, father and grandfather, but rather, in my role as judge — a role which requires me, when appropriate, to review state criminal statutes to determine whether they pass constitutional muster. A state statute designed to protect the public from criminals and criminal behavior — no matter how vile the crime — must comport with constitutional guarantees.
In my view, the district court correctly found that the guarantees secured by the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause require, at minimum, that a hearing be held prior to public disclosure of a sex offender’s registration and verification information. See Cutshall v. Sundquist, 980 F.Supp. 928, 934 (M.D.Tenn.1997); see also E.B. v. Verniero, 119 F.3d 1077, 1111 (3d Cir.1997), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 118 S.Ct. 1039 (1998); Doe v. Pataki, 3 F.Supp.2d 456, 471 (S.D.N.Y.1998). The need to hold a due process hearing is made more acute by the fact that the Tennessee Act views all sex offenders the same, regardless of the severity of their crime(s). The sex offender statutes enacted in other states, by contrast, distinguish offenders for purposes of public information disclosure, and categorize them by the risk of recidivism (what the statutes call the risk of “re-offense”). See, e.g., N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:7-8(e) (West 1995) (commonly known as “Megan’s Law”). In the case of offenders who have committed severe sexual crimes, the public is provided a great deal of information, including the offender’s name, address and photograph. Where the offender’s sexual crime is less severe, the public is provided less information—for example, the offender’s zip code, but not his address. See Doe v. Pataki, 120 F.3d 1263, 1268-70 (2d Cir.1997), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 118 S.Ct. 1066, 140 L.Ed.2d 126 (1998) (describing N.Y. Correct. Law § 168 et seq. (McKinney Supp.1999)). Because the Tennessee Act fore-goes such categorization, a due process hearing is of utmost importance, especially in the case of sex offenders whose crimes are less severe; the harm to them, should inaccurate disclosure to the public occur, would be great indeed.
The purpose of the due process hearing is two-fold: to ensure that (1) the information to be disclosed is accurate; and (2) disclosure is in fact necessary to protect the public (as required by Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 40-39-106(c) and (d)). See Cutshall, 980 F.Supp. at 934. To make that latter determination, the presiding judge will need to assess the danger to the community posed by the sex offender. I would place the initial burden of demonstrating compliance with this two-prong test on the prosecution, and afford the sex offender an opportunity to rebut those findings, particularly the “risk of danger to the community” assessment. In cases where the need to protect the public is great, and where notice to the public must quickly occur, this hearing could perhaps be expedited. In all cases, however, both the prosecution and the sex offender should be afforded an opportunity to present relevant evidence including, when necessary, testimony by expert witnesses. See id.
I also voice my objection to the majority’s expansive view of its role in this case. *485The majority notes at the outset that it was “asked to decide whether the Act violates the United States Constitution, specifically, the Double Jeopardy, Ex Post Facto, Bill of Attainder, Due Process, or Equal Protection Clauses; the Eighth Amendment; the constitutional right to travel interstate; and the constitutional right to privacy.” Ante, at 469. The district court, however, limited its discussion to just one issue: whether the Tennessee Act violates Cutshall’s procedural due process rights. See Cutshall, 980 F.Supp. at 931. The district court concluded that “[b]ecause ... the discretionary , disclosure provisions of the Tennessee [Act] ... violate[ ] the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ..., [we] do[ ] not reach the merits of the other constitutional challenges to the Act.” Id. at 934. Recognizing that we are a reviewing court, and that our role is to review decisions rendered by the district courts, not make those decisions in the first instance, see Roeder v. American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, 180 F.3d 733, 737 n. 4 (6th Cir.1999) (citing United States v. Markwood, 48 F.3d 969, 974 (6th Cir.1995)), I would limit the majority’s discussion to a review of the district court’s Fourteenth Amendment analysis, and remand this case for supplemental constitutional findings.

. Those provisions provide:
(c) For all offenses committed prior to July 1, 1997, except as otherwise provided in subsections (a) and (b), information reported on sexual offender registration/monitoring forms, verification/monitoring forms, and acknowledgment forms shall be confidential; provided, that the TBI or a local law enforcement agency shall release relevant information deemed necessary to protect the public concerning a specific sexual offender who is required to register pursuant to this chapter.
(d) If the TBI or a local law enforcement agency deems it necessary to protect the public concerning a specific sexual offender who is required to register pursuant to this part, such bureau or agency may notify the public by any means including the following:
(1) Written notice;
(2) Electronic transmission of registration information; or
(3) Providing on-line access to registration information.
Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 40-39-106(c), (d).