OH- Sex offender wins challenge of new law

6-19-2009 Ohio:

LISBON - A sex offender who challenged a reclassification requiring him to register his address for the rest of his life won a new classification requiring less registration time.

Billy Brown, 47, of 10601 Endley Road, Lisbon, filed his petition contesting his new sex offender registration level on Dec. 31, 2007, just before a new law took effect with stricter registration rules.

Based on a ruling by Common Pleas Court Judge David Tobin this week, Brown will register twice a year for 25 years instead of every 90 days for life.

Brown was one of many sex offenders living in Columbiana County who challenged the constitutionality of the changes, specifically the ability of the state to reclassify offenders who had already been classified and make the new requirements retroactive.

The civil cases filed in Common Pleas Court had been on hold for over a year while the judges waited to see what happened with a federal case and some appellate cases. Just recently, they've been making rulings, with both Tobin and Judge C. Ashley Pike ruling against the constitutional challenges, in line with what higher courts decided.

Tobin, however, has been giving the offenders their day in court, including Brown, who appeared on his own behalf Tuesday. No one appeared on behalf of the state.

Brown pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual conduct in Macomb County Circuit Court in Michigan in April 2000 and was ordered to prison for 16 to 24 months. Under the registration rules at the time, he was ordered to register his place of residence for 10 years. He was released from prison in January 2002 and had registered for six years without incident.

In November 2007, he received notification from the Ohio Attorney General's Office that he was reclassified as a Tier III sex offender, which is the most stringent of the three classifications. The new classification required him to register with the local sheriff's office every 90 days for the rest of his life and made him subject to community notification, meaning the sheriff's office had to notify neighbors within 1,000 feet that he was living in their neighborhood.

Tobin had already ruled on the constitutionality of the new law, but at issue now was how the new law was applied to Brown.

According to Tobin, the charge against Brown dealt with sexual contact and was a misdemeanor under Michigan law, with the charge similar to gross sexual imposition in Ohio, which is a third-degree felony.

He noted that gross sexual imposition falls under Tier II sexual offenses, writing that "consequently, the attorney general has misclassified this defendant."

He found that Brown had proven the new requirements "...do not apply to him in the manner specified in the letter sent to him."

He reclassified him as a Tier II sexual offender, requiring registration for 25 years, but requiring no community notification. ..Source.. by MARY ANN GREIER