Up to 100 Richland County sex offenders appeal new state classifications

2-6-2008 Ohio:

MANSFIELD — Up to 100 sex offenders living in Richland County have appealed new state classifications setting stricter requirements for residence reporting.

Richland County Common Pleas Clerk of Courts Lin Frary said the Ohio Attorney General’s office reclassified convicted sex offenders between July 1 and Dec. 1. Registered letters notified them they were placed in one of three new tiers.

Convicted offenders had 60 days to contest their new classification. Some offenders may also file motions relieving them of community reporting requirements, if that wasn’t required in their case before, Frary said.

The clerk of courts believes the onslaught of appeals is likely to end this week.
Changes in sex offender classifications are a result of Ohio Senate Bill 10, which imposed more stringent reporting.

“Ohio is now supposed to be in step with the federal Adam Walsh Act,” Frary said.

Senate Bill 10 organized sex offender classifications into three tiers. Each tier has registration requirements ranging from 15 years to lifetime. In-person verification at the county sheriff’s office also varies by tier, from annual to every 90 days.

Reclassification caused a major spike in the common pleas court caseload at the beginning of the year, Frary said.

The clerk’s office processed 21 administrative appeals of government agency decisions in 2007. This year there have already been 83, most filed by those appealing the new sex offender classifications, Frary said.

According to Frary, many convicted sex offenders filed appeals without a lawyer.

“We had people coming in saying ‘Do you have petitions (to contest this)?”

The final total may be reduced somewhat, as cases are merged where both the sex offender and their attorney filed with the court, she said.

Ben Kitzler is among area attorneys representing clients appealing reclassification. He will contest the constitutionality of reclassifying large groups of people based on an edict from state legislators.

“They have taken a system that used to classify people into different categories, based on a judge’s consideration of the case after hearing evidence and weighing facts about the offender and about the offense,” Kitzler said.

Judges decided whether that individual was a predator who might harm the community by reoffending, or a person who made a bad mistake, he said.

Under SB 10, the sole consideration for classification is the specific number of the offense the person was convicted for under the Ohio Revised Code.

“We have taken the discretion from the hands of judges and simply enabled a lot of politicians to decide,” Kitzler said. “The law says at the end of your case, you should know what your punishment is.”

The attorney said he’ll be interested to see how local judges respond to the appeals.

Let’s be honest, this thing is going to be decided ultimately at higher levels, by larger organizations,” he said. ..more.. by LINDA MARTZ