UT- Part of Utah sex registry to be removed

This is the day of interesting decisions, my Commentary to follow.

12-12-2008 Utah:

Utahns looking at the state's online sex offender registry will soon have a tougher time learning about the type of victim targeted by an offender.

The Utah Supreme Court on Friday ruled the Department of Corrections must remove information published about the gender and age classification of an offender's victims under a "target" section on the registry web site. The justices said part of a state law requiring target information on the site violates an offender's right to due process, implying they are currently dangerous without providing a hearing for them to rebut the claims.

Friday's ruling stems from a 2005 criminal case involving Steven Arthur Briggs' refusal to register as a sex offender after he was released from prison in 2002. He was convicted of not registering and later appealed on the grounds that the registration statute was unconstitutional.

The high court upheld the conviction and legal provisions requiring publication of prior convictions, current address, appearance and other similar information. But the justices also found a flaw in the target information.

"Even if the DOC derives the listed offender's primary target by reference to the offender's past victims, the label is troubling in that it implies that the offender is presently focused on repeating past crimes with similar victims," the court stated. "Anyone reading the registry would likely conclude that the offender's primary target is the DOC's prediction regarding the offender's next victim."

Briggs' profile lists "female" as the gender of his target victim and "juvenile" as the age classification.

A disclaimer on the sex registry states that posted information does not imply offenders will commit a specific crime in the future. However, "it intimates that the offenders will commit some kind of crime in the future," the high court ruled.

Prosecutor Laura Dupaix said Friday the ruling means the state will have to remove the target information from its Web site and may not post similar information unless the offender is given notice and allowed a hearing to rebut the claims. Since Utah does not offer such hearings the state will ultimately have to look at conducting them in the future or ask the legislature to tweak the statute, she said.

The Attorney General's Office and Briggs' lawyers have two weeks to file a petition for a rehearing in the case. If no appeals are filed, the ruling will be remitted back to the district court for enforcement, Dupaix said. ..News Source.. by Jason Bergreen



Convicted sex offender wins partial victory from Utah Supreme Court

12-12-2008 Utah:

The Utah Supreme Court ruled Friday that a man who was found guilty of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl 22 years ago was properly convicted in a subsequent case for failing to register as a sex offender for two years after he got out of prison.
However, the high court agreed with the man that he has been denied procedural due process under the Utah law regarding registration that requires the Department of Corrections (DOC) to identify the man's primary and secondary targets, which suggests he is still dangerous.

Steven Arthur Briggs was convicted of sexually abusing the child in 1986 and spent 15 years in prison. Prior to his release in 2002, Briggs would not sign paperwork to register as a sex offender.

He was later charged with failing to register as a sex offender between 2003 and 2005 and was convicted, which netted a two-year jail term.

Briggs then appealed his case and argued that Utah's sex offender registry unfairly labels all sex offenders as predators even when they have had no history of repeat crimes — which subjects them to such things as public humiliation, possible physical danger and discrimination in housing and employment. Briggs said publishing this information on the Internet-linked registry without a hearing before a judge to prove he is not a continuing danger who is likely to commit another similar crime violates Briggs' constitutional right to due process. ..News Source.. by Linda Thomson, Deseret News