- Posted July 13, 2011
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Supreme Court rules homeless sex offender must register
By Kathy Barks Hoffman
Associated Press
LANSING (AP) -- Sex offenders must register and tell law enforcement where they can be found, even if they are homeless, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The court overturned a lower court ruling that a homeless sex offender shouldn't be punished for not registering an address or giving his whereabouts to law enforcement. Its four Republican members signed the majority opinion, sending the case back to Ingham Circuit Court.
"The Legislature intended SORA (Sex Offender Registration Act) to be a comprehensive system that requires all sex offenders to register, whether homeless or otherwise," Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. wrote in the opinion. "An offender's homelessness in no way prevents that offender from physically entering a law enforcement agency" and reporting where he's living.
The three Democratic justices dissented, saying the majority's opinion "defies" common sense.
"Defendant had no 'residence' as that term is used in SORA. He had no habitual place at which to sleep. He had no place at which he kept his personal effects. Nor did he have a regular place of lodging," Justice Marilyn Kelly wrote for the minority. "A park bench, highway underpass or steam grate may qualify as a place where a homeless individual sleeps, but they hardly qualify as a 'regular place of lodging' under the statute."
The case involves Randall Dowdy, who visited a Lansing shelter off and on until 2006, when he was told he could no longer go there because he was a convicted sex offender. While living on the streets, he was charged with violating the Sex Offender Registration Act for not telling police where he was living.
An Ingham County judge dismissed the charges against Dowdy in 2008. The Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal, reasoning that a homeless person doesn't have what is considered a residence.
In Monday's opinion, the majority said the definition of "residence" merely contemplates a "place," and that Dowdy had a legal duty under the law to report that place to police. The minority said the law required him to report his "residence" or "domicile," which it said he didn't have.
Legislation requiring homeless sex offenders to notify police when they change where they are staying passed the Michigan Senate last year but failed to pass the House.
Published: Wed, Jul 13, 2011
headlines Oakland County
- Annual Dinner & Meeting
- FORCE Team arrests six in prolific auto theft ring
- Michigan allocates $12 million to support community-based organizations in advancing environmental and climate justice
- Oakland County and SMART launch pilot program providing free transit for veterans and dependents
- Supreme Court sides with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
headlines National
- More lawyers—and clients—want to learn about sustainable development practices
- Top artificial intelligence insurance tips for lawyers
- Lawyer charged with illegally transmitting Michigan data after 2020 election
- Viral video shows former Rikers Island inmate as she learns she passed bar exam on first try
- How Sullivan & Cromwell is scrutinizing potential new hires after campus protests
- No separate hearing required when police seize cars loaned to drivers accused of drug crimes, SCOTUS rules