NH- Local officials mull sex offender ruling

Good explanation of the court's reasoning.

8-6-2009 New Hampshire:

As the lower court decision disallowing the city of Dover's sex offender residency restrictions reverberates around the Three Rivers area, officials in Franklin, Tilton and Northfield are undecided as to the future of their own similar restrictions.

Franklin City Manager Elizabeth Corrow said she has received a preliminary opinion from City Attorney Paul Fitzgerald and believes her city's ordinance was adopted differently and should still be enforced.

"The comment that struck me was we did provide areas of the city where there was affordable housing," Corrow said.

It was not long ago that Franklin faced a similar lawsuit when a convicted sex offender who was returned to prison for failing to register in both Tilton and Northfield said he was unable to get paroled because his intended place of residency violated Franklin's sex offender residency restrictions.

Corrow said Frank Singleton III no longer intends on moving to West Bow Street because his partner no longer lives there. His attorney, Barbara Keshen of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, had previously withdrawn as his lawyer because she said there were "irreconcilable differences with respect to strategy in the case."

"We've filed for a dismissal but haven't heard anything yet," Corrow said.

Keshen also represented Richard Jennings in the recent Dover decision and spoke publicly against residency restrictions during the public hearing the town of Northfield held in June 2007 before that community passed a similar ordinance.

She said similar ordinances and laws in other states and municipalities do not work, citing the state of Iowa passing a statewide residency restriction law that is now being opposed by its county attorneys.

"The myth of the lurking stranger is powerful and scares us all, but it really is a myth," she said.

She also spoke that night to the possible legal challenges the ordinance could face, including the four challenges she posed in the successful Jennings suit — it is beyond the scope of a city or town's authority; it is preempted by state laws governing convicted sex offenders; it violates the defendant's due process rights under the State and Federal Constitutions and it violates the defendant's equal protection rights.

In Dover's case, Special Justice Mark F. Weaver said the ordinance violates the defendant's equal protection rights, which is why he dismissed the charges against Jennings filed by the city of Dover after he violated the ordinance.

Selectman Stephen Bluhm was the chair of the Northfield selectmen when the board passed the ordinance unanimously.

"I'm disappointed," he said, referring to the Dover decision.

As to what his town will do, he said he could not comment because the selectmen had not met since learning of the ruling and Police Chief Stephen Adams is on vacation.

"I would imagine it will be discussed on Tuesday when the board next meets," he said.

Tilton Police Chief Robert "Bobby" Cormier said pretty much the same thing.

"I personally haven't read the decision, but will continue to enforce all the town's ordinances until directed otherwise," Cormier said.

Tilton Selectmen Chair Katherine Dawson said she didn't necessarily support the ordinance, but said the town passed it at Town Meeting so, as a selectmen, she is powerless to do anything unless Tilton's ordinance is directly challenged. Should that happen, she said, the board would meet and take it from there.

"I would be interested in reading it, though," Dawson said. ..Source.. by GAIL OBER