VT- Vermont Court Rules In Favor Of Sex Offender

9-9-2009 Vermont:

Barre Not Allowed To Limit Residency

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- A Vermont court has ruled that a convicted sex offender cannot be barred from living in areas near where children are often found.

Twenty-nine-year-old Chris Hagan had been ordered by Barre officials to move under a new ordinance passed last year that blocks convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools or other places children gather.

Hagan, who is represented by American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont Staff Attorney Dan Barrett, alleged that the ordinance barring him from living with his wife and children in a Barre apartment was null and void under Vermont law because the city lacked the legal authority to control where individuals may live. In late June, the Washington Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction forbidding Barre from enforcing the ordinance against Hagan and ruled in Hagan's favor Sept. 4.

"We are very pleased by the ruling," said ACLU of Vermont Executive Director Allen Gilbert, noting that "Vermont municipalities cannot just take it upon themselves to decide who gets to move in to town or to dictate where people can and can't live."

Barrett praised the court's ruling as a victory for the rule of law: "If a Vermonter is convicted of a crime, his or her punishment is determined by a court of law - not by a city council or a town selectboard. Vermont municipalities can't simply decide to evict individuals who have paid their dues to society and are free."

The ACLU believes this case could have a wide-reaching impact on other towns and cities if it's appealed to the Supreme Court.

"Based on the strength of the ruling so far, in this case, it seems pretty clear cut that municipalities in Vermont simply don't have the authority to adopt and enforce these kinds of ordinances," Gilbert said in a previous interview with WPTZ.com. ..Source.. by WPTZ.com