New Ohio Sex Offender Law Challenged In Miami County

10-28-2007 Ohio:

MIAMI COUNTY, Ohio -- A Troy attorney filed a series of lawsuits Friday afternoon with the clerk of the Miami County Common Pleas Court challenging the constitutionality of Ohio's new sex offender law, more commonly known as the Adam Walsh Act.

Defense attorney Jose Lopez filed the legal challenges on behalf of a half-dozen clients, claiming that the law's reclassification of previously convicted and sentenced sex offenders, and new registration requirements for those offenders, are unconstitutional.

The new law was enacted this past summer by the Ohio General Assembly.

The lawsuits filed Friday in Miami County are believed to be the first in Ohio since the Adam Walsh Act was enacted.

Lopez will file similar legal documents next week in Common Pleas Courts in Shelby and Auglaize counties on behalf of other clients. ..more.. by Steve.Baker@WHIOTV.com


Constitutionality of sex offender law challenged
12-28-2007 Ohio

TROY — Ohio's new Adam Walsh Act was challenged Friday in a Miami County court by lawyers arguing the law's reclassification of previously convicted sex offenders and new registration requirements for those offenders are unconstitutional.

Troy lawyer Jose Lopez filed injunction requests on behalf of six people in county Common Pleas Court and said he plans to file similar complaints for others Monday in Shelby and Auglaize counties.

The challenges are believed to be the first in Ohio against the law passed this summer by the Ohio General Assembly.

Miami County Prosecutor Gary Nasal said he knows of no other challenges of the law. "We fully expected we would face a constitutional challenge," he said, pointing to challenges still in the courts of previous sex offender registration and residency laws.

Nasal said he expects the Walsh Act challenges to make their way to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Prosecutors will be in court Monday in Troy for a hearing on Lopez' request for a temporary restraining order against any court hearings on proposed reclassification of offenders who have been notified by mail of their new classification and registration requirements. Letters sent to offenders in late November with the new classification and requirements gave 60 days to file a challenge.

Nasal said the Walsh Act allows longer registration periods and classifies offenders in three classification tiers based only on the charge for which they were convicted.

"If you commit an offense, you fall within that tier," Nasal said.

Previously, judges determined classification — sexually oriented offender, predator, etc. — after looking at a number of factors.

Lopez said he sees two "chief problems" with the new law. He said making the law retroactive changes the penalty for crimes that occurred years ago.

For one client he represents, notifying the community of his residence would now be required when it was not following his conviction in 1999, Lopez said. He said the law also penalizes juveniles who may be required to register for life instead of a shorter period under previous requirements.

"If they had simply enacted (a law) and said. 'From this day forward we are going to do this,' that's a whole different ball game," Lopez said. ..more.. by Nancy Bowman, Staff Writer