ME- Dozens want names off list

8-28-2009 Maine:

AUGUSTA -- Thirty of the 41 people suing the state over sex-offender registry requirements might be off that list under a law change that goes into effect Sept. 12.

Attorneys representing the state, various counties and municipalities, and the 40 plaintiffs -- referred to in open court as a numbered John Doe -- met Thursday with Justice Michaela Murphy in Kennebec County Superior Court to discuss the progress of the consolidated cases.

Laura Yustak Smith, assistant attorney general, said those people who believe they meet eligibility requirements to remain off the list or to be removed from the list will have to fill out an application and undergo national criminal background checks to confirm the information.

The law change affects people convicted of a sex offense between Jan. 1, 1982, and June 30, 1992, who have not had subsequent serious or sex-related offenses.

"This is a good step in the right direction," attorney David Crook said after the hearing. He represents John Doe 21, who is eligible for removal from the registry under the changed law.

However, Crook said, he was concerned that more steps need to be taken.

"There were not many defense attorneys assisting in the writing of this law," he said.

The public law, titled "An Act to Improve the Use of Information Regarding Sex Offenders," is available on the Internet at http://s7y.us/1592.

In the lawsuits, the John Does maintain that registration under the state's sex-offender law violates their constitutional rights and puts an additional criminal penalty on crimes committed up to 26 years ago.

They say they've lived lives free of sex-offense convictions for the past 16 to 26 years, and ask why they are now viewed as threats to society.

Attorneys for several plaintiffs who will no longer be subject to registry requirements say their lawsuits will continue because the plaintiffs want to sue for damages they say they suffered because they were forced to register. Those include lost jobs as well as other economic and emotional damages.

On Thursday, Maine's Sex Offender Registry listed on the Internet the names and photos of 3,350 people convicted of sex offenses, with the details of their convictions, their workplace, school and residence.

Several attorneys told Murphy they were concerned about their clients' anonymity and that the application for removal might be subject to release under the state's Freedom of Access Act.

Currently, a court order prevents the state from publicly identifying the John Doe plaintiffs.

Smith said many of the people who filed as John Does were convicted of sex offenses between 1982 and 1992. ..Source.. by BETTY ADAMS