MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions
Decision: 2007 ME 139
Docket: Ken-06-757
Argued: May 23, 2007
Decided: September 25, 2007
JOHN DOE v. DISTRICT ATTORNEY et al.
CALKINS, J.
[¶1] John Doe appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Studstrup, J.) granting Evert Fowle, Craig Poulin, and Everett Flannery’s motions to dismiss, and dismissing Doe’s complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Doe argues that the court erred in dismissing his claims that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 1999 (SORNA), 34-A M.R.S. §§ 11201-11256 (2006), violates his rights to procedural and substantive due process, equal protection, and a civil jury trial pursuant to the United States and Maine Constitutions. We conclude that further factual development is necessary, and we remand for further proceedings.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE
[¶2] The amended complaint alleges that Doe, a Maine resident, was convicted and sentenced after 1982 and before 1986 for a sex offense he committed when he was nineteen years old on a family member, and to which he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to less than seventy days of incarceration. He had previously been convicted of public indecency when he was eighteen years
old.
[¶3] Doe’s amended complaint states that since the sex offense conviction, he has had no arrests or convictions for sexual offenses, and he has not abused drugs or alcohol. He is gainfully employed and has worked almost continuously for over twenty years. He married his current wife in 1988, and she has three children from a previous marriage. His wife told him that she will have to leave him if his name goes on the sex offender registry. He also states that he has reason to believe that he will lose his job if his name is placed on the registry and his neighbors will attempt to get him to leave the neighborhood. He is in fear of violence to his person.
[¶4] Doe further alleges that he received a letter dated April 5, 2006, notifying him of his obligation to register under SORNA. When Doe made further inquiry by calling the telephone number in the letter, he was told that he had to register for his lifetime.
[¶5] Shortly after receiving the April 5 letter, Doe filed a complaint against Evert Fowle, in his capacity as District Attorney, and Craig Poulin, in his capacity as Chief of the Maine State Police. Everett Flannery, in his capacity as Kennebec County Sheriff, was later added as a defendant. Doe alleges that the retroactive provisions of SORNA, 34-A M.R.S. § 11222, render the statute unconstitutional pursuant to the United States and Maine Constitutions. Specifically, Doe alleges violations of (1) procedural due process because he was not informed of the registration requirements when he entered his guilty plea; (2) procedural due process because SORNA is unconstitutionally vague; (3) substantive due process because Doe’s right to privacy is violated and the violation of his privacy right is not rationally related to a legitimate government interest; (4) equal protection because classifying lifetime registrants differently from ten-year registrants creates an unfair classification; and (5) the right to a jury trial because both the registry classification and the risk assessment require findings of fact that must be found by a jury.
[¶6] Doe filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and a supporting affidavit to prohibit the defendants from arresting or prosecuting him for failing to register pursuant to SORNA, or from publishing his name while he pursued his complaint.1 In his affidavit Doe repeats many of the allegations in his complaint.
Additionally, he states that he is a step-father to his wife’s three children and a step-grandfather to seven children. He states that he has reason to believe that two men whose names were on the sex offender registry were murdered by a stranger who had searched the registry immediately before committing the murders. After reading about the murders, Doe’s terrified wife told Doe that if his name went on the registry she would have to leave him to protect her family. In his affidavit Doe also lists his other convictions consisting of forgery and several counts of negotiating a worthless instrument, all before 1989, and furnishing liquor to a minor before 1993.
[¶7] The court denied the temporary restraining order, finding that Doe failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits. Thereafter, Fowle, Poulin, and Flannery filed motions to dismiss pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Prior to the argument on the motions, Doe registered as a sex offender. ..more.. by Maine Supreme Court
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