AUSTIN — Registered sex offenders in small Texas cities were until last year challenging residence restrictions, arguing that “general-law” municipalities lacked authority to control where they lived.
A new state law that took effect in September codified small cities’ legal standing to enact such ordinances, but now the attorney who in 2015 sued Krum over its ordinance is back in court, saying that the Denton County city’s newly enacted residence restriction, along with those of several other Texas cities, violates the statute.
“If they’ve passed a new ordinance and it doesn’t comply, they are very likely to be sued,” said Denton attorney Richard Gladden, who challenged Krum’s residency rules on behalf of a then-local male resident who is a registered sex offender. “If they have not complied with House Bill 1111 they are going to lose.”
So you have to have “a hearing to show that they aren’t a threat” to live within these cities “child safety zones”?
That’s ridiculous. How can you prove you aren’t a threat? Shouldn’t they have to prove I am?
When there are no studies showing residency restrictions help public safety, and many that say it harms public safety by keeping registrants away from family and treatment, how does this even pass rational basis review anymore?
It’s a shame Richard Gladden failed in his earlier court cases regarding residency restrictions, but since he used Procedural Due Process instead of Substantive as the challenge, it failed with them quoting Connecticut DPS V Doe 2003 about the procedure’s scheme only relying on conviction records and not needing a hearing as part of that scheme. With all of the quotes by politicians of wanting to push sex offenders out (banishment) it is also ripe for a Bill of Attainder challenge and violation of arbitrary government action.
Some people will benefit from the lawsuits and I think that is great. But when said and done and the cities lose, then the cities will rescind the existing ordinances and then adopt new ordinances complying with the statutes. So then we’ll all be back t the same place with us winning the battle but losing the war. Just my prediction…and we’ll still be banished.
To really change things public opinion, and thus the media, must recognize and publicize the truth of low recidivism rates, high treatment efficacy, etc
Center for sex offender management has had this data for many uears…but i’s the weird case, with lots of tears, that gets the P.R.