JOHN HANNA, Associated Press
ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The attorney representing a convicted child molester has urged the Kansas Supreme Court to take a fresh look at the state’s criminal offender registry because social media has made the Internet the new town square for public shaming.
Attorney Chris Joseph said during oral arguments Thursday that the world has changed dramatically since 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court found criminal offender registration was not punitive.
But Assistant Attorney General Christopher Grunewald argued that justices should overturn a Kansas judge’s finding that removed a Lenexa man’s name from the offender registry. The state contends the case seeks to end the dissemination of public information to third-party websites.
The outcome of the case has implications for people whose listing requirements were retroactively lengthened when the state changed its law in 2011.
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ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday on whether to uphold a judge’s ruling that removed a convicted child molester’s name from the state’s offender registry.
The outcome could affect hundreds, if not thousands, of people whose registry requirements were retroactively lengthened when the Kansas Offender Registration Act was amended in 2011.
The appeal hinges on whether justices agree with Shawnee County Judge Larry Hendricks’ finding that its retroactive application violates the “ex post facto” clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court must decide whether the registry law is an unconstitutional punishment or a permissible tool to protect public safety.
If the court concludes it is punitive, then the registration law at the time of a person’s conviction controls how long they have to stay on the registry.